Naomasa Ii

Naomasa Ii (spelled with an uppercase and lowercase i) is a loyal vassal of Ieyasu Tokugawa and one of the Four Guardian Kings of Tokugawa. His unit's armor was painted crimson in battle in ode to the feared and respected Masakage Yamagata, giving them the nickname "Ii's Red Devils".

Prior to his playable Samurai Warriors debut, he has been a generic general since the first title.

His Nobunaga's Ambition counterpart is forty-first place in Gamecity's character popularity ranking for 2015.

His height in Saihai no Yukue is 180 cm (close to 5'11") and he is 25 years old. His hobby is practicing his ways to introduce himself and he likes to eat large manjū.

Samurai Warriors
Naomasa is briefly given a spotlight in Samurai Warriors 2. For the Eastern army scenarios at Sekigahara, both he and Fukushima will carelessly charge for Mitsunari's camp with little regard for their safety. Ieyasu will request for the rest of his army to ensure they don't let their zealousness get the best of them. Should he fall, Mitsunari will state that the Four Generals of Tokugawa are highly overrated and ally morale will suffer. He repeats this charge again in the third title in competition with Masanori.

The player is first introduced to Naomasa as an infant during cutscenes in Chronicle 2nd and the fourth numbered installment's Tokugawa chapter. Naotora carries Toramatsu into the Tokugawa main camp to give him early exposure to his future as clan head, trying hard in battles for his sake. When he matures, Naomasa fights by his foster mother's side at Sekigahara. He stars in one of Chronicle Mode's regular missions to defeat the Tokugawa elites.

His playable persona begins his battle career at Nagashino and, upon his lord's personal request, inherits the Takeda's ferocity by donning the Ii in crimson armor. Naomasa initially believes he is capable of defending the Tokugawa on his own terms, judging all others to be too obedient or too inadequate to be proper guards. Tadakatsu tries to criticize his recklessness, yet Naomasa is too prideful to listen and chooses to be hostile towards his elder. Tadakatsu's words don't sink in until Naomasa's lone charge places himself and many others in danger during the Tenshō-Jingo Conflict. He reflects to follow the Tokugawa vision to collaborate with his comrades during Komaki-Nagakute and performs well. The others are proud of his newfound maturity and are pleased to entrust him with Ii clan leadership.

Naomasa heads to Kyushu soon afterwards as Ieyasu's representative for the conflict. During the battle and the meeting for the Shimazu's surrender, his youthful strength and collected character draws Toyohisa's admiration for him. Despite Naomasa's patronizing commentary, Toyohisa declares him to be his worthy rival and follows him around during the siege of Odawara Castle. Many years after the two youths part ways, Hideyoshi's peace dies with him. Naomasa joins the chase to protect Mitsunari in the capital and serves within the eastern ranks at Sekigahara. The Western army are defeated, and Naomasa pursues them to claim an utter Tokugawa victory. In his story route, he and Tadakatsu work together to defeat the defiant remnants. In the Friends and Rivals route, a tired Naomasa catches up with Toyohisa and is wounded in their duel. He finally accepts his slain adversary to be a worthy foe.

The Ii downloadable scenario has Naomasa and his mother undergo a trial in order to pass Ii leadership. Naohira, their great-grandfather, wants the duo to fetch a family technique scroll in the snowy mountains. They accidentally trespass into a Uesugi and Date battle and have to defend themselves. Naomasa is not surprised to learn the scroll they had fought for turns out to be completely unrelated to warfare.

Warriors Orochi
In Warriors Orochi, Naomasa is forced to fight for Orochi in order to protect the Tokugawa from further ruin. He serves as a replacement officer for a handful of characters throughout Wu's storyline.

Toukiden
The Quiz Battle Toukiden collaboration event has Naomasa and his mother sucked inside a dimensional portal while heading towards the Tokugawa camp at Nagashino. They are soon surrounded by demons and saved by the protagonist. Learning that they are in a foreign land and era, Naomasa tries to do his best to absorb his surroundings as quickly as possible and find a way back home. He insists on performing his investigation by himself and charges towards various demon hordes. When the protagonist saves him, he reflects on his brash behavior and begrudgingly thanks him/her. He promises to do his share as a Mitama.

Kessen
In Kessen, Ii is one of Ieyasu's starting officers. He leads a skilled cavalry unit and is one of the speedier troops in battle. He reports to his lord that the Western Army were marching the night before Sekigahara and requests permission to be the one to lead the charge against Mitsunari's camp. He's interrupted by an infuriated Fukushima and, after the latter's outburst, is asked to stand down. Should Ieyasu lose at Fuji, Ii and Sakaki volunteer to lead the rear guard for the army's escape. They're moved when their lord stays with them for the assault.

Ii is eventually replaced inevitably by his son, Naotaka. This happens whether or not Ieyasu has been consistently winning his campaigns. One reason, like Honda, is due to his historical death date. If Ieyasu suffers a string of losses, Ii will be killed whilst serving as the rear guard. His son swears to avenge his death by taking Mitsunari's head.

Saihai no Yukue
He appears as an enemy general in Saihai no Yukue. Ii is a bold and enthusiastic general who acts like the modern day superhero. He believes he is the harbinger of justice and thinks Ieyasu to be a fair man. Although initial reports stated that Fukushima would be the one to charge Mitsunari's camp, Ii is actually the first general to arrive. He frequently appears to stop Mitsunari, often reciting a grand entrance for himself each time.

Mōri Motonari: Chikai no Sanshi
Donned as one of Ieyasu's four generals in Mouri Motonari: Chikai no Sanshi, Naomasa fights with a bow to defend his lord in battle. Though lost to his lord's methods, Naomasa periodically charges with Tadakatsu to storm the Mōri main camp. Terumoto's army either face him or Tadakatsu when trying to charge the Tokugawa forces. He curses the Mōri with his dying breath.

Development
Koinuma remarked that his popularity in 100man-nin no Sengoku Musou is one of the driving reasons for his playable addition into the main series. The other is to alter Naotora's story to be a supportive figure for him. His weapon is meant to mirror history, but developers purposely gave him a mix of hand-to-hand combat in ode to his mother. His detailed armor is designed to highlight the iconic red armor for him and the Ii clan. His overall design motif is "heroic".

Personality
Naomasa has lived his childhood constantly being reminded of the failures of his family; his mother's performance has always been criticized to be inadequate and his great-grandfather is hysterical. Wishing to restore order within his clan and to repay Ieyasu's generosity towards them, Naomasa has learned to be shrewd, diligent, and assertive. He embraces the expectations placed upon him and believes the Tokugawa to be their just saviors. For his beliefs, he would gladly dash head first into danger with no regard for his own safety. He is often not aware of how much others worry that his resolve may be self-destructive.

He is also a perfectionist who is judgmental of others. If someone doesn't act to his standards, he has a habit of saying, "No good. No good at all." (ダメだ、ダメすぎる, dame da, dame sugiru) Though he may sound self-righteous, Naomasa is a harsher critic on himself who never brags about his accomplishments. He thinks he is weak and inexperienced, willfully criticizing any blight on his performance as an earnest means of seeking improvement.

Naotora is very dear to him, and he respectfully supports and protects her. Part of his motivations to succeed is driven by his desire to free her from their great-grandfather's control and prove his independence. Naomasa is openly kind towards her and Ieyasu. At first, Naomasa is frustrated with Tadakatsu as he deems his elder to be too old-fashioned and ineffectual to protect the Tokugawa legacy. Once he realizes Tadakatsu's affection for him, Naomasa accepts him as a good mentor and sound comrade in arms, even if he continues to disapprove the elder's way of expressing his feelings. Naomasa views Toyohisa as young and impetuous muscle and scoffs at the idea of being his rival. He impassively refers to him as Shimazu. Toyohisa's zealousness and matured loyalty are what finally impresses him.

Character Symbolism
In the Samurai Warriors series, he is symbolized by the kanji for "pride" (誇) and "stringency" (厳).

His default weapon is referencing the spear he is reported to have had at Sekigahara. It was allegedly an one shaku, eight sun long, single flat-bladed, triple-edged steel spear. According to one of Naomasa's subordinates, Seki Kazumasa, Naomasa argued with Tadakatsu prior to the battle. Naomasa stressed the importance of the Tokugawa retainers attacking first from a future political perspective. Tadakatsu could not fathom his view and retorted that it was a fool's errand. He lost his temper and attacked his fellow veteran with Tonbogiri; Naomasa dully deflected him with his spear. Kazumasa stepped in to stop further aggressions.

Amenohoakari is the Japanese deity noted in his rare weapon. He is known as a sun or heat deity with possible mythical ties to the Japanese royalty. Alternatively, he has been interpreted to be a rice god for rich harvests. Three aristocratic clans (Owari, Tsumori, Mononobe) cited the deity as their ancestor. Crimson lotus is likely referring to one of the Eight Cold Hells in Buddhism.

Naomasa's second rare weapon is named after Kōzanze Myō-oh, the Japanese interpretation of Trailokyavijaya. He is the eastern ruler of the Five Wise Kings, the protectors of Buddha who reside in a realm of endless fire. The divine flames purges a soul entering it. Kōzanze Myō-oh specifically oversees the three poisons (ignorance, attachment, and aversion) of the three worlds (past, present, future reincarnations). Japanese statues often portray him as a three faced, eight armed deity who holds varying objects in three right hands and one left hand. His sword and pike eliminates evil; his bow grants Buddha's wisdom for lost souls; his bell repeats Buddha's preachings; his rope binds the souls of the wicked. Naomasa's spear is endowed with Kōzanze Myō'ō's flames to contrast Tadakatsu's weapon.

Voice Actors

 * Jason Moran - Samurai Warriors 2 (English)
 * Trevor White - Kessen (English)
 * Takeshi Kusao - Samurai Warriors 2~3 (Japanese)
 * Hiromu Miyazaki - Samurai Warriors Chronicles (Japanese)
 * Katsuyuki Konishi - Samurai Warriors 4-II
 * Hideo Ishikawa - Kessen (Japanese)

Quotes

 * See also Naomasa Ii/Quotes


 * "How do you do it, Tadakatsu? You ride into battle with the flimsiest of armor, and still come out unscathed. While I wear this heavy, unwieldy protection and am barely fit to stand. I have a long way to go before I am a warrior of your stature."
 * "You earned those wounds by fighting your way deep into enemy territory. Each one is a medal of honor, which glitters with a shine greater than gold."
 * Naomasa and Tadakatsu; Samurai Warriors 2: Empires


 * "Where there is darkness, there is light! Where there is evil, justice will always be there! Naomasa Ii, one of the Tokugawa Avengers, is here! The evildoers here today shall now be vanquished!"
 * Ii riding into battle; Saihai no Yukue

Charge Moveset

 * , undefined, (undefined): Kicks an enemy into the air with a backwards dual-vaulting kick, jumps after target for a backflip spike-kick.
 * ,, undefined, (undefined): Stunning spear thrust, upward diagonal slash with a vertical wave at the enemy.
 * ,, , undefined, (undefined): Hopping two-handed strike with a orange whirlwind effect surrounding him, then spin dives forward slashing around him to send the whirlwind forward. Launches on the first hit, knockback for second half.
 * ,, , , undefined, (undefined): Hopping slash, spear thrust forward, and powerful explosion.

Hyper Moveset

 * undefined:
 * undefined, : Rapidly thrusts his spear.
 * undefined, undefined, : Plants his spear into the ground for a spin kick and a flying somersault kick.
 * undefined, undefined, undefined, : Swings his spear to the right, sending a cutting wave forward.
 * undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined, : Jumps for a falling heel drop that causes a small quake.
 * undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined, : Leaping rapid fire kicks that shoot diagonal cutting waves.
 * undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined, : Spins his spear around, then thrusts it, sending a large blast of energy forward.
 * undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined:
 * , : Slashes outward with his spear.
 * , undefined: Falls down with a punch, causing an OTG-hitting quake.
 * Naomasa walks forward doing diagonal slashes, then for the finisher he charges forward with a single spear thrust. Explosions trail behind him during said finisher.
 * (Ultimate/Kaidan): Leaps up and dive bombs with a jump kick. Similar to Naotora's standard Musou.
 * Rage Attack/Musou Gokui effect: Activates Blaze during sequence. Press to activate Ultimate/Kaidan Musou.


 * Spirit Cancel:
 * Deadlock Attack & Mighty Strike: Throws spear into the air and pummels foe with rapid fire punches. Sends them flying with a turning high kick and catches his spear as it falls.
 * R1: Readies his spear and stabs it forward to shoot a fiery projectile. Has a slight recoil.
 * Awakened Skill effect: temporarily boosts attack, speed, and defense when activated.

Mounted Moveset

 * , undefined: Flip kick from the horse's saddle.
 * ,, undefined: Stunning kick.
 * ,, , undefined: Sweeps his spear hard enough to blow back enemies.

Fighting Style
Naomasa is a speedy close to mid-range attacker who is beginner friendly. His attacks have wide range and require a lot of moving space to execute, particularly his C4 and Ultimate Musou. It may take time for new users to become accustomed to the unconventional rhythm of his fusion style, but as long as the player can judge their distances well, he can be an effective fighter against officers or crowds. He can adapt well to most offensive skill setups.

His weaknesses lie in the narrow range of his normal attacks —which are fast but leave his sides and back open— and his average base health and defense ratings. Naomasa is best when he is aggressive since he has poor defensive options available to him in his moveset. He also is rather slow in terms of his normal movement speed, and may be hampered against officers with his emphasis on Hyper Attacks.

Rare Weapon Acquisition

 * Stage: Battle of Sekigahara (Story of a New Star/Loyalty)

Trivia

 * Due to the popularity of the mascot character modeled after his son, Nobutaka, Naomasa is occasionally referred to as "Hikonyan's Papa" (ひこにゃんのパパ) by fans of historical media.