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Kurgan, also known as Eight-Arms Kurgan and the War God, is a supporting antagonist in the 2014 Japanese dark fantasy light novel series Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World and its 2016 anime television series adaptation of the same name, and a supporting antagonist in the 2015 spin-off light novel prequel series Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World Ex.
Kurgan was a legendary demi-human warrior once considered the mightiest in the Holy Volakian Empire. Born into the nomadic Many-Armed Tribe, Kurgan made a place for himself and his people in Volakian society using his unparalleled strength and fierce lust for battle. After being slain by Regulus Corneas, he was reanimated as a corpse soldier by the Witch Cult to do their bidding.
Kurgan is voiced by Takaya Kuroda in Japanese and by Chris Tergliafera in English. Kuroda has also voiced Kazuma Kiryu in Like A Dragon. Tergliafera has also voiced Il Capitano in Genshin Impact, Muhammad Avdol in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and Silva Zoldyck in Hunter x Hunter.
Appearance
Kurgan was a giant who stood around seven feet tall and towered above most other people. His huge body was armored by thick, twisting muscles and his fists were said to be as large as a child's head. The trait that distinguished Kurgan as a member of the Many-Armed Tribe and earned him the legendary appellation "Eight-Arms" was his eight powerful arms. His blue skin and black eyes gave the impression of a vengeful demon. The warrior's physical appearance and combat might bestowed Kurgan with a legendarily intimidating presence. Even the likes of the Master Swordsman Theresia van Astrea failed to suppress a shudder upon gazing at Eight-Arms for the first time.
Reflecting his barbarism, Kurgan wore scant clothing. His ensemble consisted of a tattered black loincloth, black bracers on each forearm that had golden bracelets attached to their bottom hems, and black hosiery that covered his legs below the knees and had the same golden bracelets adorned at the bottom. Kurgan had various pieces of gold jewellery traipsing down his body, including his neck, face, and waist area.
Synopsis
Early Life
Kurgan was born into the Many-Armed Tribe, a culture whose members consisted of a race of demi-humans that were characterized by the amount of arms they had being greater than that of other races. The Many-Armed Tribe resided in the Holy Empire of Volakia, one of the four great nations of the world. Volakia was a meritocracy where individual strength was of paramount importance. Because most demi-human races possessed latent talent for magic that made them naturally superior to humans, demi-humans were typically valued in Volakia in comparison to how they were treated in other nations.
The demi-humans of the Many-Armed Tribe, however, were unique among demi-human races in that they had no special aptitude for magic. As such, their people were considered inferior by other demi-human cultures and were often shunned throughout Volakia for their inherent weakness. Having supposedly lost their homeland in a battle long ago, the Many-Armed Tribe were a relatively meek and peaceful people who wandered the land as humble nomads. However, the fate of the Many-Armed Tribe would be changed forever by the birth of an individual who was recognized as special at birth: Kurgan.
Whereas most demi-humans of his tribe were born with between three to five arms, Kurgan was born with an alarming eight. Additionally, in stark contrast to the rest of his people, he had an unquenchable fighting spirit and always longed for battle. Possessing great fighting power since his youth, Kurgan wished to reach the pinnacle of the martial world. When he reached twenty years old, he experienced combat for the first time when a supremacist Volakian lord tried to have his private army of soldiers strongarm the nomadic Many-Armed Tribe off of his territory.
With his terrifying power, the young Kurgan crushed the lord's forces and brought the battle to the Volakian noble's own manor. Rather than destroying the lord, the prodigal warrior saw an opportunity and instead declared that he had proven the power of the Many-Armed Tribe and should be permitted to enter the lord's service. The lord relented, and Kurgan became the new captain of his forces. He went on to earn many honors on the battlefield over the years, and "Eight-Arms" as he was known became a living legend described as a "War God." Sure enough, he was eventually recognized as Volakia's strongest.
Showdown in Pictat
Duelling an Honorable Swordsman
| “ | I see, this one was most rude. Forgive me, swordsman of the kingdom. Then let me ask, not instead but in addition—what do they call you? | „ |
| ~ Kurgan apologizing to Veltol Astrea for disregarding him in favor of his daughter. |
Years after becoming the bodyguard of Stride Volakia, Kurgan accompanied his master to the city of Pictat on business. Pictat was an important commercial city located on the southern edge of the Kingdom of Lugunica, a great nation that directly bordered Volakia to the north. Stride Volakia desired to acquire a piece of merchandise from a merchant named Yactol Suwen who owned a shop in the city. Volakia and Lugunica had a long history of conflict and so Kurgan, who was Volakia's greatest military asset, wore a cloak in an attempt to conceal himself while in Pictat.
Upon meeting with Suwen, the merchant informed Stride that he had already promised the merchandise to another buyer. Stride opted to wait for the buyer to arrive in order to negotiate ownership of the item. Kurgan waited outside the store and listened into Stride's conversation with the buyer upon the latter's arrival. An argument broke out between Stride and the buyer, which prompted Eight-Arms to enter the store. The buyer, a middle-aged man with red hair, had challenged Kurgan's master to a duel after Stride had insulted his daughter, a beautiful young woman with red hair who was also present.
The woman recognized Kurgan by his reputation and he likewise recognized that she was none other than the Master Swordsman Theresia van Astrea, a famous war hero considered the greatest warrior in Lugunica who, according to rumors, had been defeated by a swordsman known as the "Sword Demon" and subsequently gave up the path of the warrior to pursue a peaceful married life. Despite his relative weakness as a warrior, Theresia's father Veltol Astrea stepped between her and Kurgan and reminded Eight-Arms that he was the challenge issuer and not his daughter.
Kurgan gained a newfound respect for Veltol and decided to acknowledge his resolve by not holding back his power in their duel. Despite the protests of Theresia, who was willing to serve as her father's champion in the duel, Veltol decided to face Eight-Arms himself to protect the new way of life his daughter had chosen. After exchanging names, Kurgan and Veltol Astrea began their duel outside the shop. As expected, Astrea was swiftly and brutally defeated. Theresia immediately retreated with her gravely wounded father after the duel in the hopes of finding a healer to save his life.
The Silver Flower Dance of Pictat
| “ | Your warrior's aura is dazzling, and the way you named yourself, radiant. Stride, I have no doubt this one is fit to be an opponent for me. | „ |
| ~ Kurgan satisfied with his opponent. |
Stride, desiring to draw out a further confrontation with the Master Swordsman, used a magical ring to place a curse on the wounded Veltol and left a message for Theresia with Yactol Suwen: if the Master Swordsman wanted her father to survive the curse then she would have to confront him and Eight-Arms the following day. Though he hadn't informed Kurgan, Stride's true purpose in Pictat was to face off against the Master Swordsman. The following morning, Kurgan and his master travelled to the agreed upon location, a large bridge in the city, for their confrontation with Theresia van Astrea.
When the two of them arrived, the Master Swordsman was already standing on the bridge with a brown-haired swordsman beside her. Just like her father had the day before, Theresia issued a challenge to Stride. Stride accepted, and once again nominated Kurgan as his champion. To the surprise of both Stride and Kurgan, the Master Swordsman opted to select the swordsman accompanying her as her champion than participate herself. Theresia revealed that the brown-haired swordsman was the rumored Sword Demon who had managed to defeat her and take her hand in marriage.
Kurgan burst into laughter, as he was surprised that the outlandish rumors surrounding the Master Swordsman had been true. Eight-Arms was greatly impressed by the aura of the Sword Demon, who introduced himself as Wilhelm van Astrea, and was eager to begin fighting. Wilhelm asked Kurgan's master what he wanted if Eight-Arms were to win the duel, though, as he had no desire for a reward, the nobleman allowed Kurgan to decide on the prize. After a moment, the battle god decided that he would claim Theresia herself as his prize if he emerged victorious.
After a brief verbal exchange, the duel between Eight-Arms and the Sword Demon commenced. Throughout the fight Kurgan mostly stayed stationary, using his overwhelming strength and multiple weapons to fend off the agile attacks of Astrea and launch strikes of his own. Eventually, Kurgan was able to land a blow on the Sword Demon's shoulder when the latter went in for an attack. Astrea jumped into the air to avoid Kurgan's follow up strike, presenting Eight-Arms with a chance to launch an undodgeable attack. Kurgan put all of his might into his next strike, hoping to cleave Astrea in two.
In response, Wilhelm abandoned defense and instead responded with offense. Though the flat of Kurgan's blade struck and wounded the Sword Demon, Eight-Arms lost two of his arms in the exchange. Kurgan was willing to continue, however Stride intervened and forfeited the duel. He relinquished the ring responsible for the curse to the Master Swordsman and then escaped with Kurgan after destroying the bridge to create a diversion. The duel between the Eight-Arms and Astrea would later go down in history as the "Silver Flower Dance," due to the sparks created by the clang of their colliding blades.
Death and legacy
Around twenty-five years after the death of Stride Volakia, Kurgan was still an active warrior heralded as a mighty hero of Volakia. At the time, Eight-Arms was posted in the Fortress City Gacklar, the most heavily guarded settlement on the Empire's border that housed a garrison of thousands of fierce warriors. Rumors began to spread that a magical item relating to one of the six other Witches of Sin was being placed on auction within the safe walls of Gacklar. Whether or not the information regarding the item were true or not, the Witch Cult, who despised and refused to acknowledge the existence of the other Witches, chose to act. Regulus Corneas, the invincible Sin Archbishop of Greed, assaulted Gacklar and single-handedly laid waste to the entire garrison with ease. Kurgan, the legendary hero that he was, fought Greed in the fallen city. However, the Sin Archbishop proved far too strong for the eight-armed warrior, who finally fell in battle.
Kurgan was recognised as a courageous hero and honorable warrior across the world after his death. His popularity led to some people such as Garfiel Tinzel using Kurgan's name in idioms. The loss of Volakia's mightiest resulted in all four nations and their citizens taking the threat posed by the Witch Cult far more seriously. The desolation of Gacklar, like the Silver Flower Dance, became an important event in modern history. In the years following his demise, some Volakians such as Balleroy Temeglyph saw Kurgan's weakness as a betrayal to the Empire, casting dishonor upon his honorable death.
Revenant of the Witch Cult
Upon the death of Eight-Arms, the Witch Cult took his corpse and reanimated it as a mindless fighting puppet that served them unquestionably. Though still formidable, the power of the corpse soldier Kurgan paled in comparison to the might he had in life. Around sixteen years after his defeat and death, he was brought into Priestella, a picturesque canal city located on the western edge of Lugunica. Alongside Theresia van Astrea, who had also died and been turned into a corpse soldier by the Cult, Kurgan served under the command of the Sin Archbishop of Lust Capella Emerada Lugunica.
Powers & Abilities
Powers
- Physical Augmentation: All beings were born with a gate, a metaphysical apparatus within a person's body that autonomously absorbed the ambient magical energy that existed in the atmosphere and stored it in the individual's od (soul). A popular technique among noteworthy warriors was "Mana Flow," which consisted of an individual enhancing their physical capabilities by channelling their magical energy throughout their body. Mana Flow granted Kurgan with a level of physical power that was unrivalled during his lifetime.
- Superhuman Durability
- Superhuman Speed
- Superhuman Strength
Abilities
- Master Fighter
Equipment
- Devil Cleavers
Gallery
Light Novel
Anime
Promotional
Openings & Endings
Plot
Light Novel Excerpts
Ex Volume 4
| “ | "For an entire group of Divine Generals to be roundly defeated. If Eight-Arms were still alive, we would never have suffered such an affront." "That name's real nostalgic and all, but he's dead as dirt." Balleroy shrugged at the man's rueful tone. To hear the name of Volakia's old hero after this litany of complaints was enough to bring a tear to his eye. "Anyway, time to stop lookin' to the past. He ain't fit enough. And Eight-Arms, well, he didn't give himself the finest send-off. Am I wrong?" There was no response. "He was supposed to defend the capital, but instead, he betrayed the city to one of the Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins and then got himself killed in the fighting... As legendary heroes go, it wasn't much of an ending." |
„ |
| ~ Balleroy Temeglyph and Glamdart Holstoy talking about Kurgan's loss to Regulus Corneas. |
| “ | "I understand what you're saying, Master Cecils. But I must wonder why we concluded a nonaggression pact, if you and Reinhard were simply going to have a 'proxy battle.'" "Oops, I'm afraid perhaps you don't understand. My suggestion is merely a fight to settle things. Any taking of life is secondary." It seemed a bit of a counterintuitive point. "He and I both have our places in our respective nations. Though, I confess it would be quite a thrill to conduct a battle with our two countries riding on us, like the Silver Flower Dance of Pictat." "You're referring to the battle between the Sword Devil and Eight-Arms, almost forty years ago?" "I think the highest heights of swordsmanship at the time had much in common with what we do now." |
„ |
| ~ Julius Juukulius and Cecils Segmund briefly discussing the Silver Flower Dance. |
List of Appearances
| Light Novel |
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Ex Volume 3: The Love Ballad of the Sword Devil
- The Love Ballad of the Sword Devil: The Silver Flower Dance of Pictat (First appearance)
Ex Volume 4: The Great Journeys
- Record of the Days Before the Royal Selection: Diplomacy by Bloodshed (Mentioned only)
- Record of the Days Before the Royal Selection: The Silver Flower Dance of the Sword Saint and the Lightning (Mentioned only)
Volume 8
- Chapter 1: A Beeline Toward Sloth (First mentioned)
Volume 17
- Chapter 4: Gorgeous Tiger (Appears as a zombie)
- Chapter 5: The Operation to Retake City Hall (Appears as a zombie)
Volume 18
- Prologue: A Dark Torrent (Appears as a zombie)
- Chapter 4: The Stars Etched into History (Mentioned only)
Volume 19
- Prologue: City Scramble (Appears as a zombie)
- Chapter 6: Regulus Corneas (Mentioned only)
Volume 20
- Prologue: Moonlight Capriccio (Appears as a zombie)
- Chapter 3: A Warrior's Acclaim (Appears as a zombie)
- Chapter 4: The Love Song of the Sword Devil—Fragment (Mentioned only)
| Anime Adaptation |
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Trivia
- Kurgan's name has also been translated as "Kulgan."
- Chris Tergliafera, Kurgan's English voice actor, has also voiced the characters of Marcus Gildark and Gaston in the English version of Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World.
External Links
 Villains
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| Witch Cult |
| Capella Emerada Lugunica · Louis Arneb · Lye Batenkaitos · Pandora · Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti · Regulus Corneas · Roy Alphard · Sirius · Stride Volakia |
| Witches of Sin |
| Carmilla · Daphne · Echidna · Hector · Minerva · Pandora · Satella · Sekhmet · Typhon |
| Mabeasts |
| Black Serpent · Great Rabbit · White Whale |
| Mother's Organization |
| Elsa Granhiert · Meili Portroute · Mother · Roy Alphard |
| Holy Empire of Volakia |
| Balleroy Temeglyph · Eugard Volakia · Kurgan · Miles · Stride Volakia · Todd Fang · Yae Tenzen |
| Others |
| Bean Argyle · Lyp Barielle · Melaquera · Reid Astrea · Roswaal Mathers · Sphinx · Ton, Chin and Kan |