Tobari Durandal Kumohira is one of the main protagonists of the manga/anime series Nabari no Ou. He is a 25-year-old half-Japanese, half-Irish man and the English teacher of both Miharu Rokujo and Kouichi Aizawa. Born in Ireland, Tobari is actually a ninja of the Banten village in the world of Nabari. He is entirely devoted to protecting Miharu, and wants him to become the ruler of Nabari, without resorting to the Shinra Banshou, which he plans on sealing away forever.
He is voiced by Daisuke Namikawa in the Japanese version of the anime and Eric Vale in the English version.
Appearance[]
Tobari is a tall man in his mid-twenties, with shoulder-length black hair that is styled messily, with bangs that partially covers his left eye. His eye colour is grey. He is often seen in a black suit with a collared, long-sleeved polo and tie. He wears a metal clasp around his left ear which is later revealed to be Banten's Engetsurin. He is often seen holding a cigarette.
Personality[]
Tobari is very loyal to his students, especially Miharu. He usually does what he thinks is best for them, regardless of what they think. Among the Banten ninja, Tobari is the most vehement dissident against Miharu using the Shinra Banshou, instead advocating its permanent seal. This often results in him going to great lengths to dissuade Miharu from attempting to activate it. However, Tobari can also be rather hypocritical, with Miharu noting that there's a lot of contradictions to what he says and does e.g. he scolds Miharu for being so apathetic, yet isn't above keeping secrets from him out of a belief he doesn't care, which eventually costs him Miharu's trust.
A comedic element of Tobari is his paralysing fear of vehicles, to the point that he claims he's never even ridden a bicycle. He has an intense hatred of transport, such as trains and buses, and would not get on one until Miharu manages to "persuade" him. This fear stems from the fact that he used to be an award-winning choirboy in Ireland, but being forcibly brought over to Japan in an airplane traumatized him so much he became tone deaf.
Tobari is also morally unable to take a life, which is a recurring theme in both the manga and anime. Unfortunately, while this makes him one of the more honourable shinobi, it also makes it difficult for him to protect MIharu, Multiple characters call him out for it, particularly Kouichi, who calls him a coward. However, while he won't kill personally, there are times when he's willing to let someone else do the killing (e.g. when Kouichi kills Mr. Frosty) and Kouichi suspects that he doesn't refuse to kill because it's wrong so much as he doesn't want the people's deaths on his conscience. He finally gets over it near the end of both adaptations, killing Hattori in the anime and Fuuma in the manga.