Ebisu (Noragami)

Ebisu is a supporting protagonist in the anime/manga series Noragami. He is one of the Seven Gods of Fortune and the humorless God of Fishing and Commerce. He first appears in both the manga and anime trying to buy Yukine (once he becomes a blessed Regalia) off Yato's hands for an incredible amount of money. Ebisu is later revealed to be attempting to gain control over phantoms - a severe taboo if not sin in the eyes of the heavens - going as far as descending to the underworld to achieve his goal. Eventually, however, it is revealed that he was doing to find the Location Brush, which could allow him to control Phantoms and make the world a better place, making him an anti-hero.

He is voiced by Ryotaro Okiayu in the Japanese version of the anime and John Burgmeier in the English version, the latter of whom also voices Seishin Muroi, Tien Shinhan and Freed Justine.

Appearance
Contrasting with him being perhaps the most revered of the Seven Gods of Fortune, Ebisu's appearance is actually the most plain. His appearance is based on how a typical Japanese "salaryman" (サラリーマン, Sararīman), or corporate white-collar worker, would look. He almost always wears a black suit with a white undershirt, a grey vest and a blue tie, sometimes along with a black coat and white gloves - which are actually two of his shinki. He has short, neatly combed black hair and his eyes are colored a striking green. His eyes usually look very opaque, with no visible pupils, and are his most distinctive facial feature.

After reincarnating, child Ebisu looks generally similar to how he used to be before, only with more liveliness in his eyes and a slightly messy hair. Instead of wearing a full suit like the adult Ebisu, young Ebisu wears a sweater vest over a white short-sleeved dress shirt, and black shorts.

Personality
Initially, Ebisu appears very stoic, always bearing a near-emotionless facial expression and speaking in a reserved, polite, yet aloof tone. He is also highly pragmatic and resourceful, constantly progressing towards his goals and willing to go to great lengths - such as putting his health at grave risk and descending to the underworld - to achieve what he is after.

Despite his aloof appearance and personality, he can actually be a silly person. This was shown when, during his trip to the underworld while Yato protected him, he continued to look into the eyes of the many Ayakashi there, causing them to attack them and forcing Yato to protect him frequently. Another occurrence was when he stated he couldn't even tie a shoelace and asked Yato if he could tie shoelaces. Yato comically replied he was better at bondage knots but Ebisu didn't get the joke and said "As expected of a War God", to which Yato was exasperated that he didn't react. Also when he used the locution brush for the first time against Izanami's beldams, Ebisu was amazed at the brush almost forgetting that he was being chased. Even when reincarnated he has a comical side as shown when he tripped in the middle of the street and was nearly run over causing Yato to worry and help him up.

It is later revealed that the reason Ebisu agrees to put himself at risk and take such extreme measures is due to how, in every incarnation, he was always taught that, being a significant god, he could never truly "die" and would always be reborn. Aside from making Ebisu take his personal safety lightly, this also had a somewhat traumatizing influence on him, causing him to believe that himself as an individual is not important and that he must focus only on the task that has been passed down to him by his own previous incarnations.

He is also a truly kind God, as his desire to control and name Ayakashi and go to the underworld to retrieve the locution brush is because he believed if he did so he could relieve some of the strife and pain that Ayakashi cause and make the world a truly better place. This is shown when he is reincarnated and talks to Yato, saying when he realized he existed he took in the atmosphere and immediately fell in love with the world and wanted to bring the world and humans happiness, with Yato stating that was his true inner character and the type of person he has always been and will be. This is once again stated in chapter 39 by Kunimi, who states that the master wanted to control Ayakashi to improve the world as he grew to understand that money alone cannot make humans happy.

Yato's words to Ebisu in Yomi caused a change in the latter's view of himself and encouraged him to strive to survive and live as the being his current, individual self is. Sadly, the Ebisu that had reached this realization was eliminated by Takemikazuchi, causing the birth of a new incarnation.

The personality of the current incarnation of Ebisu, that is still a child, fits his age, as well as the fact he was recently "born" with no memory of his past lives. He is very curious, and also jolly and friendly, yet is also well-mannered like his past adult form. Flashbacks of the previous Ebisu show that his current personality is just like the one the previous incarnation had as a child, up until he began his instruction under his lead Shinki Iwami, meant to prepare him to continue what the past incarnations had started. He is also shown to be easily influenced by those around him, as shown when he continually calls Bishamonten Pervy-san (or psycho bitch depending on translation) because Yato told him that was her real name. He seems to be particularly attached to Yato, often running to him when they meet like in Chapters 52 and 58. He tends not to understand jokes and takes them literally like the previous incarnation that met Yato.

Being a god of commerce, Ebisu has several traits that recur in all of his incarnations instinctively, such as his mind for business and the importance money has in his eyes. He also holds the state of the Japanese economy in very high regard by nature, dreaming of economic success for the country even as a child, as well as becoming furious when Kofuku triggers the sharp decline of the early 90's bubble economy. Also present in a of Ebisu's incarnations is his incredible clumsiness, which is so severe that he can't even tie his shoelaces without the help from his Shinki. Despite being so terribly clumsy, Ebisu has a surprising talent for fishing, which is probably related to how he is also a god of fishing.

One last trait of Ebisu's that is unique, if not unheard of, among gods, is his sympathy towards strays. This feeling, as he has stated, stems from how he himself was rejected by the first person to give him a name - his mother Izanami.