Ranmaru

About
Ranmaru was one of the main commanders that served under Oda Nobunaga during the Fourth Sengoku Era in JAPAN, being one of the few retainers that remained loyal to Nobunaga after most of them deserted from  the  Oda House in a rebellious spit. Compared to her boisterous comrade Shibata Katsuie, Ranmaru is very stern, serious and in control.

During the events of Sengoku Rance, she acts as one of the initial commanders from the Oda House and works directly for Rance, who's acting as Oda's shadow ruler in an attempt to unify JAPAN. Initially, she doesn't like Rance at all and completely ignores him outside of the battlefield, as she finds him obnoxious and annoying. Due to the deep trust Nobunaga has in Rance, her boundless loyalty for her lord makes her follow Rance's orders regardless, but she still openly expresses her dislike and mistrust of Rance, who's regularly trying to convince her to sleep with him. Her dislike for him doesn't change all that much over the course of the game, but he proves to be a reliable ally and a talented leader, so she grows to respect him to some extent. Eventually, Rance will be able to make her admit her romantic feelings for her life-long comrade Katsuie, though Rance quickly discredits him by calling him a lolicon and claiming that he wouldn't be interested in a an attractive adult woman like her, but she claims to be fine with that.

Later on, Rance will find an opportunity to peek on Ranmaru's room while she's naked changing clothes, but he will be noticed by Katsuie. Sparked with curiosity over what Rance is watching, he starts peeking with him but he's disappointed that it is just Ranmaru, and the two start arguing over ideal female proportions when they accidentally slip into the room and are immediately noticed by her. Trying to defend himself, Katsuie claims that he wasn't deliberately peeping on her because he doesn't find her body attractive and wouldn't get aroused by it. While the two expected her to burst in anger the two are left speechless when she starts crying over Katsuie's statements, which leads the two to panic and run away on the spot. Some time later, Rance will try to convince her to give up to Katsuie thinking that she would be heartbroken, but she's instead more determined than ever after realizing how important he is to her, and claims that she will do anything in her power to be with him. Eventually, she will adopt a little girl with Katsuie and get married with him, ending happily with the man she loves.

Personality and Appearance
A samurai living for the sake of her lord, Ranmaru is an extremely loyal and devoted person that has fought for the Oda House for over ten years. Wearing a traditional JAPANese Bushi armor and carrying a katana over her shoulders, she boasts an intimidating and serene disposition. Her hair is purple and was left short for a more comfortable fighting style, and her body is rough and fit. Rance has described her body as muscular and well-trained, like it's expected from a warrior, but also very feminine and captivating.

In general she's a very blunt and frank person who, while easily irritated, very rarely shows emotion. She talks and behaves formally without interfering too much in conversations and keeping to herself. It's rare for her to talk about her feelings or thoughts, and leaves a calm expression at all times. One of the few people with who she was shown being openly affective was with the Oda House's princess Kouhime, with who she's kind and caring with. She loyally serves her as her subordinate but makes everything she can to support her in and out of the battlefield. She sets her role as a Commander above anything else, and considers her life to be dedicated exclusively for the sake of the Oda. She holds a deep respect and admiration for her Lord Oda Nobunaga, and deeply trusts in his decisions even if she personally believes them to be questionable.

She doesn't like Rance but respects him for his ability and has grown to trust him after showcasing his undeniably good results when uniting JAPAN. She's also been in love with her comrade Shibata Katsuie for quite some time, as she claims that the two have fought cheek by jowl for many years in countless battles and that he greatly encourages in the battlefield. She's perfectly aware of Katsuie's personality quirks and that he holds little interest in adult women, so she preferred to keep her feelings concealed for a long time. Despite her love for him, she claimed that her status as a warrior comes first and that even if he were to die, her loyalty to Oda would lead her to keep fighting to the death even if he wasn't around anymore. She's very stubborn, Rance could never convince her to have sex with him no matter what he tried.

Abilities
As one of the main commanders of the Oda House, Ranmaru is a powerful samurai that fights by wielding a katana with great results. She has a Sword Combat Lv1 skill and great experience on the battlefield, with a polished technique that has been refined over time and led her to reach her pretty impressive Level Cap of 35 She also possesses a lv1 Bow combat skill though she is never seen using a bow. She's well-versed in the art of the sword, and can learn many sword techniques quickly. In battle, she's noted for having a high damage output but her defenses are quite subpar when compared to other swordsmen, relying more on foot soldiers to cover her. When she's deployed in battle with Katsuie, she's greatly inspired and motivated by him, and the two make an amazing duo due to the great synergy the two developed after fighting together for so long, boosting her fighting abilities a lot.

Despite being a rather powerful warrior on her own, she's isn't particularly impressive as a commander and mostly relies on frontally charging. When compared to her notable swordsmanship, her leadership is very subpar and leads her to not be as effective as she could otherwise be, though her own fighting ability and great experience in war allows her to make up for her lack of natural talent as a commander and still come out with remarkable results.

Trivia

 * See Mori Ranmaru / 森蘭丸 (Male) for the historical character reference. Note that the kanji for Ranmaru is actually different (乱丸 instead of 蘭丸).
 * Because the historical Ranmaru was male, Ranmaru's design was originally going to be more muscular, drawing inspiration from a muscular female character from DiaboLiQuE (see Gallery) This was toned down into Ranmaru's final design.
 * She is one of the only women to successfully resist Rance's temptations and that he gave up trying to have sex with.
 * She's one of the few people to reach her Level Cap based on RWN. Her level cap is 40 in Sengoku Rance.