Hakurō, also known as Hakurō of Kitami and the Brown bear slayer, is the leader of the pack of 700 dogs in Hokkaidō.
Appearance[]
Hakurō is a bicoloured black-and-white Siberian Husky. He has common markings of the breed, such as white above the eyes and white on his cheeks, chest, legs, belly and tail. His eyes are light blue with black corneas. He also has two vertical scars at the corner of his right eye, which is presumed to be from a bear's claws. Later in the wolf arc, his right leg is cut off by one of the attacking wolves.
Hakurō in the Ginga Nagareboshi Gin anime has a very different appearance. His black colour has now been changed to orange, and his nose is coloured in a mint-green hue. His markings around his eyes also changed, but his eyes are still blue.
In the Ginga Densetsu Weed manga, his design has changed a bit, since the style also has changed since Ginga Nagareboshi Gin. He now has white markings over his eyes that look more like eyebrows. Hakurō's old age can be seen in his appearance, considering that he has gotten more strands of hair sticking out. Hakurō is never seen or even mentioned in the anime though.
Personality[]
Hakurō is a wild and feisty dog, calling himself and his pack a bunch of troublemakers.
He is a bit overly confident and reckless, but a very brave fighter. He is proud of his bear hunting skills, though he admits that in order to be a good fighter you have to stay in shape by fighting.
Hakurō quickly befriends the Ōu dogs, calling them his comrades. For him, his comrades are like brothers and he greatly values comradeship.
One of Hakurō's more defining traits is his excited hyena-like laugh is even more well known of his laugh in the anime version.
Despite being a wild dog he loves his family dearly wishing to avenge his sons and comrades that have been killed at the paws of the Russian dogs. He also enjoys playing with his grandchildren and when Hakuro sees that no one is going to make out alive he sends his grandkids away to safety as he refuses to watch them die.
Ginga Nagareboshi Gin[]
Akakabuto Arc[]
When Gin and Ben travelled around to gather dogs, they didn't have time to get to Hokkaido. Hakurō, hearing rumors about a dog pack gathering soldiers, goes off with a pack of dogs to join the fight.
When he meets Gin and Ben, he at first mistakes them for not being members of Riki's pack, but Ben soon makes it clear they are the good guys. Hakurou tells Ben that since they never came to Hokkaido, Hakurou and his pack decided to come by themselves. Ben pays Hakurō his respect by lowering his head in front of his pack. Hakurō joins the pack and they set off for the final battle against Akakabuto.
Hakurō is a great help in the battle against the bears, as he is very skilled in slaying them. He takes Smith's place in the unit to take down the four fortresses when he got wounded. Hakurō survives the final battle against Akakabuto and return to Hokkaidō.
Wolf Arc[]
His leg is cut off by the ten fighters of the Underworld who try to get information out of him.
He is fetched by Chuutora and John to help in conflict against Reima's wolves. He comes gladly, believing Reima is the leader of the wolves who cut his leg, wanting revenge.
Moss leads the army into Reima's palace. Hakurō helps Kurotora and defeats Raiga with his and the Mutsu Generals' help. He is confused as he doesn't find the wolf who cut off his leg. Reima explains him that the wolf behind that is an evil wolf lord Gaia.
Hakurō goes back to Hokkaidō where he fights Gaia's soldiers along with his comrades. The evil wolf lord is defeated and Hokkaidō is peaceful again.
Ginga Densetsu Weed[]
Hakurō is not mentioned through the Hougen plot nor the Shōgun plot since he lives further in Hokkaido island.
Russian Arc[]
Hakurō meets Jerome who has come from Ou to inform him of the current positions of Gin and his son Weed. Hakurō tells him to watch out as intruders have come ashore and he doesn't know who or what they are. Upon meeting Jerome again, who was attacked by the Russian dogs, Hakurō orders him to be taken away for rest. Jerome makes Hakurō promise to tell Gin about this to get back up and secure his homeland, to which Hakurō first agrees.
After Jerome is gone, he reveals he only said that to calm him down and make him feel at ease, as he will not let anyone take his homeland away from him so easily. As Viktor and his pack of Russian dogs invade Hokkaido, Hakurō does his best to fight Viktor off. He meets them on the train tracks and gives them a warning to leave the island alive as he will not give up his homeland so easily. However, Viktor is impatient and attacks Hakurō, leaving him badly injured. His pack fights the Russian dogs in an attempt to drive them away and succeed when Maxim orders everyone to retreat.
Hakurō's sons count how many have been lost only to find that they have suffered twenty two casualties and forty more were too wounded to fight, but the enemy suffered no loss at all. Hakurō gives leadership to his eldest son as he is in no condition to fight and orders that all of the dead dogs be taken back to main base so families can say their goodbyes.
Back at the base, Hakurō orders his son Suzaku to take his wife and children to Ou for protection. At first he refuses but Hakurō insists and tells him it's an order. Suzaku reluctantly obliges, believing his wife can take the children while he stays to fight. But the old dog insist that Suzaku takes his family leave as he doesn't want to see his bloodline come to an end.
It ends in a duel between Viktor and Hakurō. Hakuro sees all of his pack being slaughtered by the Russian army and takes measures into his own hands. As Viktor lunges for Jerome, Hakurō gets in the way and Viktor grabs his throat instead. Jerome questions why Hakurō would save him, to which the husky responds he is doing it because Jerome is a guest from Ou, and this will be the last he can do for them. Hakurō leaps into the air and spins around to free himself from Viktor, only to have a chunk of his neck torn out in the process.
Hakurō tells Jerome that this is not the place for him to die as he has an important mission for the Ou army, and he must see it through. He then curses to Russian dogs and tells them he will wait for them in the afterlife before collapsing. Hakurō sees an image of Gin in the sky and apologizes for failing to protect the pack. Hakurō pleads for forgiveness before passing away.
Shortly after his death, the Russian dogs attack Jerome until a huge gust of wind blows them all over. Hakurō's soul saves Jerome before departing to afterlife.
When Moss dies and crosses the Sanzu River, a Siberian husky is present to welcome him. it is believed that this husky is Hakurō.
Trivia[]
- He shared same voice actor with Kurotora.