Quick answer (as of November 10, 2026): Onimusha: Way of the Sword stars Miyamoto Musashi, voiced by Kenichiro Thomson in English and Yoshimasa Hosoya in Japanese. His face is modelled on the late actor Toshiro Mifune, but Mifune is a face model only, not the voice. The core cast around him is Shizuka (the Oni Lady in his gauntlet), his mentor Ono no Takamura, the kabuki dancer Izumo no Okuni and his rival Sasaki Ganryu. The game has full voice acting in 9 languages on Steam, and you switch dubs from the title screen under Settings > Language. Most of the main cast are real historical figures, from the 9th-century poet Takamura to Okuni, the dancer credited with inventing kabuki.
Spoiler note: above the "Spoilers" heading this guide names characters, bosses and their early-game roles. The villain reveal, the late-game twists and the ending are kept below it.
Two months after launch, r/Onimusha is still arguing about the cast. As of November 10, a "Japanese or English Dub" thread had 48 comments, a "who has the most aura?" poll 29, and a third thread asks whether Okuni will lead a sequel. This guide lists the major characters, both voice casts, the real person behind each name, and an honest answer to the dub question.
Key takeaways
- Protagonist: Miyamoto Musashi. English voice Kenichiro Thomson, Japanese voice Yoshimasa Hosoya (IGN, Capcom press release).
- Face model: Toshiro Mifune, licensed from Mifune Productions after about two years of talks. He does not voice Musashi.
- Main allies: Shizuka (the Oni Lady), Ono no Takamura, Izumo no Okuni, plus Lady Murasaki for side quests.
- Rival: Sasaki Ganryu, the game's take on the real swordsman Sasaki Kojiro, whom Musashi duelled in 1612.
- Dubs: 9 full-audio languages on Steam, including English and Japanese. You can mix Japanese voices with English subtitles.
- Fun fact: in English, Shogo Miyakita voices both Takamura and the Man in White.
Who is the main character in Onimusha: Way of the Sword?
The hero is Miyamoto Musashi, a young, brash swordsman who arrives in Kyoto to prove nobody can match him. Capcom's own description calls him "An ardent samurai who arrives in Kyoto looking to prove that he is unmatched in the way of the sword." The prologue kills him. A Genma ambush cuts down Musashi and Sasaki Ganryu before their duel, and Musashi wakes in Hell with an Oni Gauntlet forced onto his arm. The gauntlet lets him absorb Genma souls, and he can't take it off without dying.
Musashi is not the hero of the old games. Earlier Onimusha titles starred Samanosuke, Jubei and others. Way of the Sword is a fresh story, and director Satoru Nihei has said it would be "very difficult to tie directly into the story, characters, and lore of the older titles."
Is Musashi played by Toshiro Mifune?
No. Mifune died in 1997. Capcom licensed his likeness for Musashi's face from Mifune Productions. The Steam store page puts it this way: "Capcom has turned to none other than the late, iconic Japanese samurai movie legend Toshiro Mifune to star as the face model for this rendition of Miyamoto Musashi." The voice belongs to Kenichiro Thomson in English and Yoshimasa Hosoya in Japanese. Hosoya's best-known anime role is Reiner Braun in Attack on Titan.
Full voice cast: who voices who?
Japanese voices come from Capcom's own character-trailer schedule (PR Times, August 17, 2026) and Animate Times. English voices for the main five come from IGN's character guide; the bosses' English voices come from published cast lists (The Phrasemaker, Meet the Voice Actors).
| Character | Who they are | English voice | Japanese voice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miyamoto Musashi | Protagonist, Oni Gauntlet bearer | Kenichiro Thomson | Yoshimasa Hosoya |
| Shizuka (the Oni Lady) | Oni spirit inside Musashi's gauntlet | Yuriri Naka | Aya Endō |
| Ono no Takamura | Veteran Onimusha, Musashi's mentor | Shogo Miyakita | Akihiko Ishizumi |
| Izumo no Okuni | Kabuki dancer, Takamura's apprentice | Leader Looi | Chiharu |
| Sasaki Ganryu | Musashi's rival, second gauntlet bearer | Tashinga Bepete | Nobuhiko Okamoto |
| The Man in White | Gives Musashi and Ganryu their gauntlets | Shogo Miyakita | Shin-ichiro Miki |
| Dokyo | Genma-allied schemer | Clare Corbett | Riho Fushida |
| Shuten Doji | Oni boss | Anthony Howell | Shinnosuke Ogami |
| Daidara | Corpse-eating Genma boss | Abe Jarman | Kenta Miyake |
| Rasho-gan | Genma boss | Adam Longworth | Yasuhiro Mamiya |
| Ifuu | Genma boss, Burai's younger brother | Adam Stickler | Mitsuaki Kanuka |
| Burai | Genma boss, Ifuu's older brother | Richard Reed | Jiro Saito |
A few names English players may recognise: Anthony Howell also voiced Margit and Morgott in Elden Ring, and Clare Corbett has voiced several female characters across the Souls series. In Japanese, Nobuhiko Okamoto is Bakugo in My Hero Academia, and Aya Endō is Sheryl Nome in Macross Frontier.
Who are the main characters?
Shizuka, the Oni Lady
Shizuka is the Oni woman who lives inside Musashi's gauntlet. She talks to him during fights, explains the Genma and gives tips. Musashi calls her "Gauntlet Lady", which she hates. IGN notes that in life she was a spy who posed as a dancer and tracked Genma across Japan. She is the game's narrator in Capcom's Japanese character trailers.
Ono no Takamura
Takamura is an old but terrifying swordsman who also wears an Oni Gauntlet. He guards the gate between the living world and Hell, and he teaches Musashi what being an Onimusha means. In gameplay terms he is also your Boss Rematch host, so you'll keep visiting him after the credits.
Izumo no Okuni
Okuni is Takamura's apprentice and a kabuki dancer who has put her career on hold. Her Japanese character profile says she joined Takamura "for a certain reason" to gain the power to defeat the Genma. She resents that Musashi got a gauntlet and she didn't. She is also your seamstress and pouch-maker: you upgrade the Hozuki Pouch through her. Premium Deluxe owners get three extra outfits for her, and the free Monster Hunter Rise collab adds a fourth (Yomogi's Dance).
Sasaki Ganryu
Ganryu is the rival Musashi was about to duel when the Genma struck. He comes back with his own gauntlet and none of Musashi's restraint. IGN calls him "the morality mirror image of Musashi." You fight him three times, starting with the demo duel at Kiyomizu-dera. Our Sasaki Ganryu guide covers all three.
Lady Murasaki and the other side characters
Lady Murasaki is a ghostly writer who gives you local mysteries to investigate and asks you to find her Lion Dogs, one of the game's collectible sets. IGN's character guide does not list a voice actor for her. The prologue also features Yoshioka Seijuro, the head of a Kyoto sword school whom Musashi beats before the Genma attack.
Who are the villains and bosses?
The bosses are a mix of Genma, Oni and human rivals. Several talk a lot mid-fight, which is why they have named voice actors.
- Dokyo is a Genma-making schemer and, per Capcom's Oni Memo, the only character who speaks Kyoto dialect. See our Dokyo boss guide.
- Shuten Doji is an Oni boss who fights with a giant gourd. Our Shuten Doji guide has the fight.
- Daidara, Rasho-gan, Ifuu and Burai are Genma bosses. Ifuu and Burai are brothers, and you meet Burai after Ifuu.
- Benkei is the giant warrior monk you fight on a bridge and again at Rendaino. Neither IGN nor the cast lists above name his voice actor.
For the full order and how to beat each one, see All Bosses in Order.
Which characters are based on real people?
Most of them. Capcom built the cast from Japanese history and legend, even though the story is fiction.
| Character | Real figure | When they lived | What history remembers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miyamoto Musashi | Miyamoto Musashi | c. 1584 to 1645 | Undefeated duellist, author of The Book of Five Rings |
| Sasaki Ganryu | Sasaki Kojirō | died 1612 | Lost to Musashi on Ganryū-jima, the island named after him |
| Izumo no Okuni | Izumo no Okuni | active c. 1603 | Credited with creating kabuki |
| Ono no Takamura | Ono no Takamura | 802 to 853 | Poet and scholar; legend says he served Enma, the judge of Hell, at night |
| Shizuka | Shizuka Gozen | 12th century | Dancer and lover of Minamoto no Yoshitsune |
| Lady Murasaki | Murasaki Shikibu | c. 973 to c. 1014 (dates uncertain) | Author of The Tale of Genji |
| Benkei | Saitō Musashibō Benkei | died 1189 | Warrior monk and Yoshitsune's retainer; beaten by Yoshitsune on Gojō Bridge in legend |
| Shuten Doji | Shuten-dōji | legend | Oni king of Mount Ōe |
Notice how many of these names point at one 12th-century general. That is not an accident, and it's the one thing to skip below if you haven't finished the game.
Spoilers: who is the Man in White?
Stop here if you haven't finished the story.
The Man in White, who puts the gauntlets on Musashi and Ganryu, is Minamoto no Yoshitsune, the final boss (Wikipedia plot summary). In the game he was once an Onimusha himself, was married to Shizuka, and was locked in Hell when his hunger for power grew too great. That is why Shizuka and Benkei, both tied to the real Yoshitsune, sit so close to him in the story. In English, Shogo Miyakita voices both Yoshitsune and Takamura. In Japanese, Yoshitsune is Shin-ichiro Miki, a different actor from Takamura's Akihiko Ishizumi.
Late in the game Ganryu's Oni spirit, Gioh, kills Okuni, and Takamura gives up his own gauntlet to revive her. By the post-credits scene Okuni is a gauntlet bearer, travelling with Musashi as his student. That ending is why the "will Okuni be the playable character in a sequel?" thread exists. No sequel has been announced. Producer Akihito Kadowaki only said at Gamescom 2026, "There's a desire to make more Onimusha games in the future." Our ending explained and DLC & sequel guides go deeper.
Should you play in English or Japanese?
Both dubs are complete, so this comes down to taste. Steam lists full audio for English, Japanese, French, Italian, German, Spanish (Spain), Brazilian Portuguese, Russian and Simplified Chinese, and text in 14 languages (Steam store data, checked November 10, 2026).
The case for Japanese: the setting is Edo-era Kyoto and every character is Japanese. Capcom even gave Dokyo a Kyoto dialect, a detail written for the Japanese script. The r/Onimusha dub thread's opening post put it bluntly: "The English accents sounded jarring given the characters and setting." The complaint goes back to the demo. A June Steam discussion said: "the voice acting is good, but it's kind of jarring hearing a British voice coming out of a Samurai."
The case for English: fights are loud and fast, and Shizuka's tips come mid-combat. Reading subtitles while you watch for a parry flash is hard, especially on Carnage. The English cast is good. The objection is mostly to British accents, not the acting.
Our pick: Japanese voices with English subtitles for a first run if you care about the setting. Switch to English for a Carnage or trophy run, when you'd rather keep your eyes on the Issen cue than on the subtitles.
How do you change the voice language?
From the Title Menu, go to Settings > Language, per Capcom Support's FAQ. Voice and display language are separate options there, so you can pick Japanese voices and English text. AllThingsHow reports that both "can only be switched from the title screen", so quit to the title screen first.
FAQ
Who is the main character in Onimusha: Way of the Sword? Miyamoto Musashi, a young swordsman revived with an Oni Gauntlet. He is based on the real 17th-century duellist of the same name.
Who voices Musashi in Onimusha: Way of the Sword? Kenichiro Thomson in English and Yoshimasa Hosoya in Japanese. Toshiro Mifune is only the face model; his likeness was licensed from Mifune Productions.
Who voices Okuni? Leader Looi in English and Chiharu in Japanese.
Is Samanosuke in Onimusha: Way of the Sword? No. Way of the Sword is a new story with a new cast. Two Deluxe Edition sword skins, Raizan and Enryuu, do reference Samanosuke's weapons from the 2001 original.
Is the English or Japanese dub better? It's taste. The common complaint about the English dub is its British accents, not the acting. Both are fully voiced, and you can mix Japanese audio with English subtitles.
Can you change the language mid-game? Use Settings > Language on the title screen. Guides report that it can't be changed from the in-game pause menu.
More Onimusha: Way of the Sword guides
- All Bosses in Order: every fight, ranked and linked.
- Ending Explained: the final scenes and post-credits, full spoilers.
- DLC & Sequel: free outfits for Okuni and Shizuka, and what Capcom has said about a sequel.
- How to Beat Yoshitsune: the final boss, all 3 phases.
