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This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
| “ | Of course not... I just got that feeling from watching. Dear Brother. | „ |
| ~ Hermes explains to Ares how he managed to see Adam's The Fist That Surpassed Time, threatening him with his gaze. |
Hermes is a major antagonist in the manga/anime series Record of Ragnarok and a major character in its manga spin-off Record of Ragnarok Forbidden Legend - Apocalypse of The Gods.
He is a major antagonist in all Rounds of the Ragnarok Tournament.
Hermes is a Greek God, a direct servant of Zeus, as well as one of the Twelve Gods of Olympus and a member of the Gods' Council. Hermes takes care of everything that has to do with the organization of the events of the Gods, and plays the role of messenger for all and sundry.
He is voiced by Junichi Suwabe, who has also voiced Ryomen Sukuna in Jujutsu Kaisen, Ryokugyu and Vergo in One Piece, The Undertaker in Black Butler, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez in Bleach, Kyogai in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Yasha in Asura's Wrath and Rien and Ju Fa in Hell’s Paradise, in the Japanese dubbed version of the anime adaptation. He is voiced by Cory Yee in the English dub.
Appearance[]
Hermes is a tall, handsome man, dressed in a butler's uniform. He has a mop of neatly combed black hair, and tattoos of an unknown design above his left eye and below his right eye. He also wears white gloves and has a small mole on the right side of his chin.
Personality[]
Hermes has a detached and calculating personality, but also sometimes playful. He rarely shows strong emotions, and when he does, it's usually out of surprise, like when a Human manages to defeat a God. Like Zeus, Hermes genuinely enjoys seeing a good fight, and he gets excited at the prospect of one.
Hermes is a very intelligent God, and quickly understands certain dynamics much earlier than others. While seemingly friendly, the relationship between Ares and Hermes appears to be defined by Ares trying to maintain his image before his younger brother and failing, with Hermes going along with whatever Ares does and says please.
Like most Gods, Hermes believes that they are superior to Humans, but unlike most other Gods he recognizes the potential and strength that Humanity possesses. He also occasionally praised Humanity's fighters. Hermes is a deeply respectful individual, to the point of having written musical requiems for the fallen Human and God fighters in Ragnarok, showing them his respect.
Biography[]
Hermes is a Greek God belonging to the Twelve Gods of Olympus and the direct subordinate of Zeus. After Zeus kills his father Kronos during the Titanomachy and becomes the new Leader of the Universe, the Primordial Goddess Gaia opposes his names and unleashes the Giants against the Greek Gods, starting the Gigantomachy: Hermes participates in the war supported by the other Olympian Gods, always managing not to suffer any scratches during the various battles. In the end the war is won by the Greek Gods, thanks to Zeus who defeats the Giants in Valhalla and Hades who defeats the Titans subordinate of Kronos, freed from Tartarus and eager to exploit the Gigantomachy to avenge their Leader.
Some time later Adamas, not accepting that his younger brother Zeus is the Leader of the Gods, organizes a coup against him, bringing several Gods of the Gods' Council and the Twelve Gods of Olympus to his side thanks to Hermes, who took his side: in reality Hermes' is a cover hatched by Zeus to be able to start a new war. In the end Adamas is mortally struck by Poseidon for having stained the perfection of the Gods and decides to erase his name from history, however Hermes, who remained hidden to observe everything and is discovered only at the last minute by Poseidon, takes the dying body of Adamas and, at Hades' request, takes him to Beelzebub, who saves his life by transforming him into a Cyborg. From that moment, Adamas begins to live in Helheim under the name chosen by Hades Adamantine. When Hermes, at Beelzebub's request, goes to warn Poseidon that Adamas is still alive and asks him if he still intends to kill him, Poseidon explains that he will not do it because, if Adamas died, Hades would be upset.
In 2000 B.C. a Gods' Council takes place, in which Hermes also participates, at the end of which it is established that Humanity would be spared, but would still suffer punishment. Thebes is established as the place to be destroyed to send a message, and Ares decides to take the task as the city is part of his jurisdiction. In the end, however, Thebes was not destroyed due to the intervention of Alcides, who was taken among the Greek Gods and took the name Heracles.
After the XXI Century Gods' Council, in which Hermes participates, it is decided that Humanity must be exterminated, but Brunhilde manages to convince the Gods to give Humans one last chance to survive by winning the Ragnarok Tournament, and thus the start of the competition is established. Following this, during another meeting of the Gods' Council, Zeus chooses 12 of the 13 Gods who would be part of the Gods Fighters to represent the Gods during the Ragnarok Tournament, and establishes the Apocalypse Tournament where 16 Gods would fight each other to see who would take the last place in the Gods Fighters.
At the end of the meeting Hermes, Zeus and Ares are joined by Ra-Horakhty, enraged with Zeus for what happened, who after knocking out Ares prepares to fight against Zeus, but the two are interrupted by Cú Chulainn who demands the throne of Zeus if he wins the Apocalypse Tournament. Zeus pits Cú Chulainn and Ra against each other in the first match of the Round of 16 and establishes that the winner of the Apocalypse Tournament would also have the possibility of establishing a new law in the Constitution of Valhalla.
At that point, Hermes watches the various matches of the Apocalypse Tournament from the stands of honor together with Zeus and Ares.
Some time later, following the start of the Ragnarok Tournament, Hermes remains at the side of Zeus to witness the First Round and, subsequently, accompanies his superior into the Arena when he decides to fight in the Second Round replacing Shiva: Hermes takes the field and plays Zeus' battle music as his entrance into the Arena. Immediately afterwards, Hermes returns to the stand and witnesses Zeus' clash with Ares, managing to see all the movements of his superior and Adam unlike his brother.
From that moment on, Hermes witnesses all the fights of the Ragnarok Tournament together with Ares and Zeus. Following the death of Poseidon in the Third Round, the Greek Gods represented by Hermes, Ares and Zeus prevent Shiva from fighting in the Fourth Round in order to use a Greek God, Heracles to be precise, and thus avenge their fallen comrade, even if he is eventually defeated and killed by Jack the Ripper.
At the end of the Fourth Round, Hermes defines both Zeus and Loki as liars to try in vain to mask their anger towards how the competition is going and, during the Fifth Round, states that he would love to be able to dance with Shiva one day. During the Sixth Round, Buddha betrays the Gods Fighters and decides to fight for the Humans, which is why the Gods decide to pit him against Zerofuku in that match, even though the God is then possessed by Hajun, a Demon that not even Hermes knew about.
At the end of the Sixth Round, with Buddha's victory and the score back to equal, Hermes tries to suggest Ares as Buddha's replacement, but in the end it is Hades, who arrived in the Arena shortly before, who fights in the Seventh Round to avenge Poseidon, even if he is defeated and killed by Qin Shi Huang. In his honor, Hermes composes a requiem as he did for all those who fell in the Ragnarok Tournament, and immediately afterwards Beelzebub asks him to tell Zeus that he would fight in the Eighth Round, where in the end he emerges victorious against Nikola Tesla.
At the end of the Ninth Round, won by Apollo and with the score back in favor of the Gods, Hermes discovers that Soji Okita fights for the Humans in the Tenth Round and communicates this to Susano'o no Mikoto, who reaches the meeting of the Gods Fighters and decides to take the place of Anubis as fighter of the Gods in the Tenth Round, although Susano'o was ultimately defeated and killed by his opponent, Soji Okita, bringing the score back to a tie at 5-5.
Powers and Abilities[]
Overall Abilities: As one of the Twelve Gods of Olympus, Hermes is quite powerful. He is responsible for presenting Zeus before his battles. As a God, Hermes is incapable of dying due to old age and possesses physical abilities far superior to those of any ordinary Human. His body cannot be damaged by mortal weapons, however it can still be damaged by unarmed attacks from individuals with superhuman strength and Divine Weapons. Hermes is strong enough to have fought in the Gigantomachy and come out unscathed.
Keen Intellect: Hermes almost always correctly evaluates the intentions and tactics of Ragnarok participants during the various clashes, needing explanation from Zeus only on a few rare occasions. He was also able to understand Adam's counterattack when he countered Zeus' The Fist That Surpassed Time, an attack that Ares failed to perceive or even understand.
Matter Manipulation and Telekinesis: Hermes is capable of manipulating matter to some extent, as he demonstrated when he materialized several violins so he could play them for one of his performances. Furthermore, he also showed the ability to control and move objects without touching them. He can use this power to levitate and play multiple violins at once, so he can make his musical performances even more divine. He also uses his telekinesis to manipulate a book and a pen to write a song while playing the violin.
Musical Expertise: Hermes is a very talented violinist. Famous musicians such as Bach and Mozart described his performance of "Air on the G String" as "divine". Hermes is not only a talented musician, but he is also a very skilled composer: he wrote a requiem for each of the Ragnarok participants who died in order to honor them.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In the original Greek Mythology was Apollo the God of Music, a title given to him by Hermes as a sign of friendship. This may explain why it is Hermes' musical performance that announces the entry of Zeus in the Second Round of the Ragnarok Tournament and not that of Apollo.
- In a scene from the Record of Ragnarok anime, before the Fourth Round, Hermes is seen arguing with Brunhilde about something, before taking his leave when Göll arrives. It is not yet known whether or not this scene will have an impact on the main plot of the series.
External Links[]
- Hermes on the Shuumatsu no Valkyrie Wiki
