Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV

Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV is the protagonist of the Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha series.

Appearances

 * Devil Summoner: Kuzunoha Raidou tai Shibito Ekishi: Protagonist as Jouhei
 * Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army: Protagonist
 * Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon: Protagonist
 * Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Lone Marebito Manga Adaption: Protagonist
 * Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Maniax Chronicle Edition: ??? race
 * Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (3DS): Summoner Race, EX Dungeon Boss.
 * Persona 4: Mentioned by Chie Satonaka

Design
Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV wears the Yumizuki High uniform, albeit with somewhat pointed-shoes, a school cap, and a very noticeable katana hidden under his cape.

Personality
Through the tradition of Shin Megami Tensei series, Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV is a silent protagonist, where his personality is based upon players' actions and decisions. Though, from his choices and text-boxes, it can be revealed that Raidou appears to be a reserved and very introverted young man.

Profile
Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV is a young student of the Yumizuki High School who was trained in the Kuzunoha village in the art of the Devil Summoner. Once he was ready, he undertook the trials at the nameless shrine in the heart of the Shinoda mountains and became the fourteenth Raidou Kuzunoha. He was assigned a partner by the Herald of Yatagarasu named Gouto, a sarcastic talking cat who was to guide Raidou in the ways of a Devil Summoner, and was sent to work part-time at the Narumi Detective Agency as a cover for his true task.

As the newest Raidou Kuzunoha, it is his duty to protect the Capital from the demons of the Dark Realm, and ensure that the supernatural world is kept in check. His abilities with a katana are without equal, and his skill with a pistol is unmatched, but Raidou's true power comes from the demons tucked away in confinement tubes beneath his cape.

Devil Summoner: Kuzunoha Raidou tai Shibito Ekishi
Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV is revealed to have actually been named Jōhei (錠平). Raidou was a student of Yumizuki Imperial High School before becoming the apprentice to Shouhei Narumi. In this novel, he wields a katana called Muramasa.

Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army
Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV is the newest member of a line of summoners who have claimed the title of "Raidou Kuzunoha". Originally a student at the Yumizuki Imperial High School, Raidou went through extensive training until he was ready to undergo a series of trials at the Nameless Shrine in the Shinoda Mountains, where he earned his title. The Herald of Yatagarasu assigned a talking cat named Gouto-Douji to watch over him. Raidou Kuzunoha uses a Katana, Pistol and Demon Tubes known as kuda to capture and use demons for detective work as well as protection.

Raidou Kuzunoha is assigned to protect the Capital from various supernatural dangers. He works out of the Narumi Detective Agency in Tsukudo-Cho, under the watch of Shouhei Narumi. Raidou was contacted by Kaya Daidouji, who wanted to hire him to kill her in order to prevent her from being controlled by her demonic blood. While talking to Raidou, Kaya was kidnapped by mysterious soldiers in red armor.

Raidou continued investigating the case of the mysterious girl, until it lead him to the Daidouji Manor, in which he met Kaya's uncle Kiyoshi. After uncovering information about a curse on the Daidouji family, Raidou witnesses Kiyoshi transforming into a monster called a "Red Cape". When Raidou began to pursue Kiyoshi, he was stopped by a mysterious rogue Devil Summoner, who summons Ichimokuren in an effort to stop Raidou from interfering.

Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon
Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV returns as the protagonist of the fourth Devil Summoner game. He returns to shrine in Shinoda and undergoes retraining in preparation for returning to work for under the Herald of Yatagarasu. Gotou-Douji returns in order to provide guidance in the same capacity as he did in the first game. Gotou unseals some of Raidou's abilities to allow him to summon two demons at once, and Raidou returns to work as The Capital's guardian, seeking out the new disturbance that were detected by the Herald of Yatagarasu. Raidou once again winds up working with Shouhei Narumi and Tae Asakura.

In this sequel, Raidou and Narumi was asked by a young woman by the name of Akane Narita to find a man by the name of Dahn. Following the clues, he managed to unveil that Dahn is related to the mysterious murders and suicides that happening in The Capital. As he continues to solve the mystery even further, he was stopped by a group of masked man, the Fukoshi. As they released a mysterious insect which were called The Luck Locust, Raidou had his luck drained and had to battle against Binbou-Gami and eventually lost.

Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Lone Marebito
The series occurs after the events of Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon where Raidou continues his job of protecting the Capital while working in the Narumi Detective Agency. He becomes involved in the case of the Lone Marebito after incidents involving humans becoming demons or summoning demons at the cost of their lives start to appear.

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Chronicle Edition
Raidou Kuzunoha replaces Dante's role as a recruitable ally in the update re-release of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Maniacs, titled Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Chronicle Edition, which was released along with the Japanese special edition of Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon. Despite not being the protagonist of the game, Raidou remains silent, with Gouto speaking in his stead. Most of his in-game skills parallel Dante's from the original, but have new names. The actual differences between their skill repertoires are that Dante can learn the conversation passive "Intimidate", but Raidou instead uses the milder "Arbitration", also the counterpart of Dante's "Son's Oath", "Eternal Raidou", possesses the additional effect of "Pierce", making him viable in the battle against the ultimate boss.

Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (3DS)
Raidou appears alongside Gouto-Douji and his alternate self Raido Kuzunoha the XIV in Soul Hackers as bonus bosses in the EX dungeon, after defeating "Kyouji Kuzonoha". Raidou and Raido are both voiced by Tomokazu Sugita in the Japanese version.

Persona 4
Raidou is briefly mentioned by Chie Satonaka, implying that Naoto Shirogane reminds her of a character she saw in a movie called Kuzunoha. This, however, only exists in the English version.

Relationships
Throughout the series, Raidou develops several relationships with the other characters.

Gouto
Gouto is the mentor of Raidou Kuzunoha. Raidou looks up to him as his teacher, despite the fact that he usually tricks Gouto into chasing catnip. He will usually listen to Gouto's advice regarding a case they are working on.

Shouhei Narumi
Shouhei Narumi is a detective in the Capital and he also serves as a liaison with Yatagarasu whereby Raidou works in his detective agency as his apprentice. Despite him being lazy, Raidou had a high trust with him regarding on investigation techniques.

Tae Asakura
Tae Asakura is journalist that works in the Capital and also serves as one of Raidou's informants. She often hires Raidou to investigate rumors and occurrences around the Capital or in escort missions she fears could turn sour. She once teased Raidou regarding on which female companion would he go out with, including herself.

Nagi
Nagi is the apprentice of Geirin Kuzunoha the XVII, and is the eighteenth in the Geirin Kuzunoha line. At first, she considers Raidou as her rival but overcame her negative feelings towards Raidou and begins seeing him as a sort of second mentor and friend throughout the rest of the Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon events.

Later on in the Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Lone Marebito, Nagi went to the capital for a case that involves a Dark Summoner that seemingly hunts people who are sword experts. Together with Raidou, she managed to solve the case. It is implied later on in the series that she harbors feelings toward Raidou but it is unknown either it is romantically or out of respect for him as she views him the same as the late Geirin Kuzunoha the XVII

Trivia

 * Although Raidou didn't make a physical appearance in Persona 4, he was mentioned by Chie Satonaka when they're on school trip to Tatsumi Port Island as the person that works as detective for generation as she seen on movie. (US version only. The Japanese version makes reference to another famous Detective series, but the US localization changed it to Kuzunoha for familiarities sake.)
 * In Toumon Boogey's prequel novel, Devil Summoner: Kuzunoha Raidō tai Shibito Ekishi, his real first name is given as Jōhei (錠平).
 * The demon allies he used during the events of the manga in their order of appearances are: Orthrus, Gozuki, Mezuki, Alraune, Ippon-Datara, Jack Frost, Poltergeists (3 of them), Mokoi, Nue, Moh Shuvuu, Oumitsunu, Cu Chulainn, Scathach, Susano-o, Kohryu, Mada, and Decarabia. And through demon fusion, he also owns Futsunushi and Yoshitsune.
 * Gozuki and Mezuki are probably a reference to Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha VS. King Abaddon's opening.
 * He also used Mokoi and Moh Shuvuu in his Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne Chronicle appearance. He uses them again in his ultimate boss battle in the 3DS remake of Soul Hackers.
 * The Kohryu is proven to be the same one from the second game.
 * Raidou's design is based on . Fittingly, Kato claims to be a descendant of the Kuzunoha of Japanese folklore the clan gets its name from.
 * There are some demon conversations in Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon where a demon may ask Raidou to wear his hat (i.e. Incubus), and if the player decides to do so, the demon's attention will be caught by Raidou's uncovered head. When the demon returns Raidou's hat, it will say Don't worry ... I'm not gonna say anything while being a little nervous or startled.
 * Although it was not shown, Raidou is capable of summoning 8 demons as hinted in the openings of both games.