Ebumi Masaru (江文 優) is a second-year winger in the Kanagawa High School Rugby Club who started playing rugby in high school after being invited by Hachiouji Mutsumi.
Appearance[]
Ebumi is of average height. Build-wise, he is rather muscular and is noted to have especially powerful thighs. He has short, spiky hair that he regularly bleaches blond from his natural color of black. He wears extensions with the appearance of two long spikes sticking out from the base of his head. His ears are pierced in the lobe and are typically outfitted with stud earrings.
His facial structure isn't particularly unattractive, but he is always making crazed, ugly expressions. His pupils are incredibly small, and shrink even more so when he is excited. He wears mascara more often than not, just because he thinks long eyelashes are punk.
Ebumi appears to own just two shirts outside of school and rugby: a purple t-shirt with black tiger stripes, and a white t-shirt with a flame printed on the bottom. He usually wears one of these two beneath his normal school uniform. He also owns a light blue hoodie that he wears on his nightly runs.
Personality[]
Ebumi is incredibly aggressive, often to the point of violence. He is full of passion and always works his hardest at everything he cares about. He believes that working with people who are less passionate and hard-working than him will compromise his own efforts, so he doesn't get along with people who would rather "go with the flow" or act as nothing more than a cog in the machine. Despite this, he is genuinely sympathetic to those who are self-effacing and actively willing to help them become confident enough in themselves to stand against the flow of the machine.
His abrasive nature and lack of regard for rules or authority can make him seem simple, but deep down, he is cerebral and arguably good-natured. Each of his opinions has a lot of thought behind them.
Ebumi has a lot of respect and admiration for all of the current third-years.
Plot[]
It is shown in chapter 37, that Ebumi was given a lot of money as a child because his parents were never home, and he could not spend it all.
During his walk with Ise, there's also a mention of a man called "Mr. Takagi", who seems to be the source to Ebumi's money. It can be assumed this man is his step-father. As Ise confronts Ebumi about changing his name to "Takagi Masaru", Ebumi tells Ise he's never going to change his name.
Relationship[]
Matsuo Toshinosuke[]
He seems to have a close relationship with Matsuo, who is kind of like a big brother figure to everyone in the team. He respects him as someone he could talk to and practice with.
Ise Natsuki[]
Before Ebumi joined the rugby club, he was usually seen hanging out with Ise.
Ebumi is fond of Ise and seems to dislike his older brother. He is the one who mostly encourages him to stay in the rugby team, even paying his weekly 'wages' just to shut his brother up. Ise, however, sometimes thinks Ebumi reminds him of his older brother when Ebumi is angry.
Suwa Yuusaku[]
Suwa thinks of Ebumi as a trouble maker. They quarrel a lot but also keep each other in check, or at least Suwa did.
Skills[]
Kick-and-Chase Chaser[]
Given his speed, he is used to run after Matsuo's forward punts and to score tries.
Speed, Agility and Powerful Fends[]
Ebumi is the fastest player in the team, and he can borderline knee a defender literally down the throat to avoid fouls.
Etymology[]
- Ebumi means "bay, inlet" (江) (e) and "writing" (文) (fumi/bumi).
- Masaru means "excellence, superiority, gentleness" (優).
Trivia[]
From chapter 7 of the manga.
- Ebumi's jersey number 11 specifically refers to the Left Wing position.
- Ebumi's appearance is similar to the Eyeshield 21 character, Yoichi Hiruma. Both characters share the same catchphrase, "GYA-HA!" It's unknown whether this is made to be intentional or pure coincidence.