The Characters:

Genki

Genki is a young boy of about ten. The most noticable thing abouthim is that he is VERY energetic. He seems to be constantly in motion, as Suezo says,"I get tired just looking at him." He is also extremely courageous, and nevergives up, no matter the bad the situation gets. His stubborn streak has gotten him intotrouble, but it has also carried him through to victory, even when he and his friends wereon the verge of defeat.

Genki is from our world, and is a master Monster Rancher player.Even before he found himself in the world of the monsters, he dreamed about going there,and is very happy to have had his dream come true. While he misses his family, he is evenhappier being with his new family. He cares about his friends very much, especially Hollyand Mocchi, and will do anything for them.

Genki is very idealistic, and will fight very hard for what hebelieves is right. Fortunately, Genki is not without battle skills. When he puts on hisrollerblades, he becomes a dangerous adversary, fast and agile, with a powerful kick. Mostoften, though, Genki uses his skates to escape from trouble, often scooping up Holly orMocchi on his way out. Without his skates, he seems to be much less capable, and will notfight without them.

Genki is somewhat naive, and prone to act without thinking. He isVERY confident, and faces danger with brash talk and strong action. He is not egotistical,though, and in fact can become embarassed by the praise of strangers. He is capable ofdeep sensitivity, and can turn a battle around with words, as well as with his fists. Hiscompassion, both for people and for monsters, can get through to even the hardest,toughest enemies.

Holly

Holly is a young teenaged girl, maybe thirteen or fourteen. Shehas brown hair and brown eyes, the same as the character from Monster Rancher 1. She seemsmore mature, however, than in the game, and is calmer and less excitable. Holly'sbackground also does not match that of the game, and so it is not likely that Genki hasbeen zapped into a video game. More likely, he is on a world that just looks like MonsterRancher.

Holly was born in the Monster Rancher world, and has grown uparound monsters. She has a magic pendant, which guides her to Mystery Disks, and to herallies. The pendant was given to her right before her village was destroyed by Moo'stroops. The only other person who was able to use the pendant was Holly's father, who wasbanished from the village when she was young. Because these experiences were bothassociated with storms, Holly is a little frightened of thunder.

Holly seems to care about Genki a great deal, and often expressesconcern for his safety, especially when he is about to do something stupid. She is closeto Suezo, too, as he is her monster, and also seems to be a little fond of Golem. Holly,like Golem, is a very gentle being, and she probably sees a kindred soul.

Holly is not much of a fighter. Her one combat experience was inthe first episode, and even then it was played for laughs. For the most part, she servesas support to the others, giving reassurance when needed, and acting as Genki's guide inthe monster world. Of all the group, she is the one with the most discipline, and exceptfor Hare, is probably the one with the most intelligence. She is also a sweet andcompassionate girl, and can be very charming when she needs to be.

Mocchi

Mocchi is a little monster, about six inches shorter than Genki.He has a pink body, beady black eyes, a beak-like mouth, and a green "shell"that runs down his back. The Mocchi, in Monster Rancher 2, is supposed to represent aJapanese sweet cake, and in fact that is where Genki gets the name, in the TV show. Thesweet cake also represents cherry blossoms, and many of Mocchi's attacks involve pinkcherry blossom petals.

Mocchi is a young monster, though, only a baby, and does not showmuch combat ability as the series begins. He proves to be suprisingly tough, however,having a mean punch, and the ability to take a few blows, as well. He usually rides onGenki's back, using Genki's speed to give himself an advantage during a battle. Aroundepisode 10, he starts to develop stronger attacks, and becomes even more dangerous. He isbrave, but inexperienced, and can be easily overpowered without Genki around to guide him.

Mocchi adores Genki, and follows him everywhere, when not ridingon his back as mentioned above. He often repeats what Genki says, although he seems onlyable to say "Mocchi", or "Chi" on his own. He is almost constantlyhungry, although this may be due to his age. The cuteness of the character, and his"Chi" catchphrase, is somewhat similar to a certain yellow rabbit from anothermonster cartoon.

Suezo

For those who haven't seen the Monster Rancher game, Suezo is around, yellow monster with a single, large eye, and a short tail that he stands on. IfMocchi is Genki's monster, Suezo is Holly's. He is with her from the first episode, andserves as her guardian. Suezo isn't much of a fighter, but when pressed, he can be a lotof trouble.

Suezo is sarcastic, rude, self-serving, insulting -- an allaround obnoxious character. This may be a sign that Holly spoils her monsters, but it alsoseems that Suezo was "born" that way. He's a joker, and often tries to lighten atense mood by fooling around, but this usually backfires. Interestingly, he can becomeangry if people don't take him seriously, or take him for granted.

He cares a lot about Holly, and Genki too, actually, although hewould never admit it. Publicly, he seems only to care about himself, and that's probablynot too far from the truth. He is quite a bit the coward, and will do his best to avoidharm. If forced to continue towards danger, he will usually complain about it the wholetime.

Suezo's one redeemable feature is that his eyesight isincredible. He is able to spot individuals and identify who and what they are, evenseveral miles away. While he has never demonstrated the mental powers of the Suezo fromthe MR game, he has used his tail and Tongue Punch in battle. It is possible that he, likeMocchi, will develop attacks as the series continues, as he is only about two years old.

Golem

Golem was introduced into the team in episode 3, where he wasreferred to as an "enigma". And that he is, a stone giant, with great strength,who is nonetheless unwilling to fight. The only survivor of a great battle, Golem iscursed to guard the Lost Disks of monsters who died in that battle. But when Genki and theothers arrive on the scene, they convince Golem to come with them and free the Phoenix.Not only will the Phoenix be able to turn the bad monsters good, but it can also unlockall of the Lost Disks.

Golem's experience, however, has left him a creature completelyunsuited for battle. He is gentle and kind, becoming concerned if even a flower or a birdis injured in his presence. When he is forced to fight, it is usually defensively, usinghis body as a shield to protect his friends, or to stop the charge of a foe. Only whenGolem becomes enraged, something that has only happened so far in the episode in which hewas introduced, does he unleash his full power. This is usually fatal to his adversaries.

Golem is not terribly quick thinking, but he is not stupid,either. He speaks very slowly, but it is not because he thinks slowly. Rather, his speechis very direct, blunt, to the point. When he has something to say, he speaks, and when hedoes not, he does not. Likewise, Golem is capable of moving very fast when he needs to. Ifhe does not move quickly most of the time, it is simply because he does not need to movequickly.

Tiger

The Tiger of the Wind joined the cast in episode 5, when Genkiran into his pack in a desert canyon. At first a wild, angry creature, with a deep hatredof humans, Genki's kindness and compassion slowly wore through his hatred, and gave him areason to fight Moo again. Moo had taken Tiger's brother, and his troops eventually killoff the rest of Tiger's pack. Tiger's brother, we later learn, has become one of Moo'shenchmen. So, more than anything else, Tiger is driven by a desire for revenge.

Tiger is a loner, he keeps his feelings to himself, and he doesnot trust anyone or anything, except for Genki. He has stolen to survive in the past, andsees nothing wrong with doing it again. He can be a violent fighter, and is easily driveninto a rage. His voice is very calm, very quiet, (and sounds a lot like Clint Eastwood)but with an anger raging just under the surface. He can be insulting, and sarcastic,especially to Hare.

Tiger has several extremely powerful attacks, including his Roar,which is capable of producing gale force winds. Tiger's connection with the wind is oftenalluded to in the series, by sudden breezes or gusts of wind that come up whenever heappears. He is strong enough to kill a fairly powerful Dino with one Slash, and he oftentakes on the task of pulling a cart or wagon. But Tiger's primary power is his speed,which is so great that he can literally run down the side of a cliff, and land safely onhis feet at the bottom.

Tiger's relationship with Hare is interesting. On the surface, heseems to hate the rabbit, but deep down there may be a little respect there. He and Hareboth have been thieves, and what probably galls Tiger is that Hare is so much better atit. He is very protective of Holly, as he is of anyone he sees as an innocent caught inthe crossfire. But it is his trust of Genki, and his obvious respect for him, that is atthe heart of why Tiger is with this group.

Hare

A thief, trickster, a con artist to the extreme, Hare joined thecast in episode 6, after tricking Genki and his friends out of the winnings from bothfirst AND second place in a tournament, and almost getting them in trouble for sneakingout of an inn without paying. He seems to be along for the challenge of the battle withMoo. He loves to fight, and looks forward to testing his skills against Moo and hishenchmen, but surely it is his wits that Hare REALLY wants to test.

Hare's strength is his intelligence, and he is a planner and athinker. Mostly, he thinks about getting others to do his work for him, but he is alsocapable of using his brains for the benefit of others. He is a quick thinker, and hisplans rarely go awry, but when they do, he's quick to react with a backup plan. Hissuccesses have given him a rather large ego, and he often boasts about his"genius".

Hare loves to goad Tiger, which means that he is either unawareof just how dangerous that is, or he is a lot better fighter than he lets on. It may be alittle of both. Hare is fast, and packs a real whallop, being able to lay Tiger out withone punch. (Although he did catch Tiger off guard that time) He is a cagey fighter,pressing the attack when he has the advantage, trying to back off and outsmart hisopponent when he's on the defense.

Of all the group, Hare is probably the one least emotionallyattached to his friends. But his high intelligence can sometimes give him some insightthat his more emotional allies may miss. He obviously regards his friends as good friends,and would not betray them again as he did when he first met them. It is not because he has"learned his lesson", it is because these are his friends now, even Tiger, andhe wants to give them the benefit of his wisdom.