The anime and manga series Ikki Tousen features a wide and diverse cast of characters created by Yuji Shiozaki. The characters as well as their names are loosely based upon the characters from the Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. For example, the character [|Hakufu Sonsaku] is based on the historical figure Sun Ce. The series revolves around Hakufu Sonsaku, a female fighter who attends Nanyo Academy with her male cousin [|Koukin Shuyu], where seven rival schools fight each other for supremacy in the Kanto region.
Main schools
Nanyo Academy
Nanyo Academy is a school named after Nanyang, which based on the Wu Kingdom in the Three Kingdoms period. The top-ranked fighters in Nanyo are known as the Big Four, which consists of [|Shimei Ryomou], [|Gakushuu], [|Kouha Kannei], and [|Genpou Saji]. After Kannei's defeat, [|Koukin Shuuyu] becomes one of the Big Four in his place. ;Sun Ce ;Lü Meng ;Zhou Yu ;Zuo Ci / Wang Yun ;Campaign against Yuan Shu ;Cheng Pu ; / ;Lu Su ;Zhuge Jin
Kyosho Academy
Kyosho Academy is a school named after Xuchang, which based on the Wei Kingdom of the Three Kingdoms period. Its leader is [|Moutoku Sousou]. ;Xiahou Dun ;Xiahou Yuan ;Zhang He ;Yu Jin ;Xiahou En and Junudo ;Li Tong ;Meng Da ;Niu Jin
Yoshu Academy is a high school led by Seirei Ryuyo. It is named after Yangzhou.
Rakuyo High School
Rakuyo High School is a high school named after Luoyang, a prefecture-level city in the western Henan province of China and a former capital of China during the Three Kingdoms period. Rakuyo was the first of the schools to fall following Toutaku's death. ;Lü Bu
Gogun High School
Gogun High School is a high school named after Wu Commandery, roughly modern Suzhou, Jiangsu), which is led by [|Ukitsu]. ;Xu Gong ;Goton ;Chokei ;Hikei
Yoshu Private School is a school named after Yuzhou City, a city located in the central Henan privince in China. ;Yuan Shao ;War between Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu#Battle of Wancheng ;Yan Liang ;Wen Chou ;Zhang He#Defection to Cao Cao ;Tian Feng
Other schools
Ryoshu Academy
Ryoshu Academy is a high school named after Liangzhou, a district located in Gansu that is part of the Wuwei prefecture in China. The students of Ryoshu were the original main characters when the manga was first being planned. Although the original and final manga designs have similarities, there were some differences in the story. An example is that it was only the magatamas that originally had the spirits of past warriors and the characters were not modern-day equivalents of important warriors from 1800 years ago, so it was likely that character's destinies would not be featured in the storyline. A few other characters, like Kakouton and Kakuka, appeared, with Kakouton having a much different personality, while Ryofu's magatama was used to turn a fighter named Ritsu Buntatsu into a violent maniac. The pilot chapter is included in volume 1 of the Ikki Tousen manga. ;Cheng Yin ;Ma Dai
Nanban High School
Nanban High School is a high school named after Nanman tribe, which is led by [|Moukaku] and [|Mouyu]. Briefly appearing in the first anime adaptation, in which Kanu defeated them in the tournament hosted by Rakuyo High School, they appear again in Ikki Tousen: Xtreme Xecutor..
