This is a list of characters from the manga series Ga-Rei by Hajime Segawa, included the characters from the anime adaptation directed by Ei Aoki.
Main characters
The protagonist, an ordinary high school student who has had the ability to see ghosts ever since he was a child. Because of this, he always felt different, but things changed after meeting Kagura. He started practicing kendo from a young age, being the son of a kendo instructor and utilizes his skills during missions. When fighting, he sometimes dons a pair of sunglasses. The story-line concerns his growth as a spirit-user, his main weapon being swords. He initially wields Michael #12, but after breaking it in a battle, is given the sword Michael Revolution in its place. He supports Kagura during her emotional lows and a bond develops between them. Kensuke has the same sesshōseki that transformed Yomi into an evil spirit, embedded near his heart. According to Yomi, the sesshōseki itself wished to be placed there. The stone gives him partial memories of Yomi's past, as well as allowing his sword techniques to become radically more powerful. This stone was later removed when Imawano Setsuna forcefully tore it from his body in the Garden of Tamamo, fatally damaging his body in the process. He survived after Kagura defeated Setsuna and revived the Kyuubi, using its powers to restore his body from the brink of death. After firming his resolve to save Kagura from being controlled by the Kyuubi, he unleashes the true power of the Michael Revolution, the ability to cut through dimensions. Kagura mentions that Kensuke has a unique presence which puts spirits at ease and even Byakuei feels more secure when Kensuke is near.
Always smiling, Kagura is the heroine of the story. She is feisty and ambitious and can put up a good fight with her spiritual beast, the Ga-Rei Byakuei (nicknamed Shirō), an inugami who resembles a large white dragon. She controls Byakuei from the seal on her back and a long chain that connects her soul to his, so any damage Byakuei receives also damages her as well. Over time, she becomes stronger and more motivated because of the support that Kensuke gives her. She shows signs of having feelings for Kensuke, as she gets jealous when Shizuru and Kensuke are spotted alone together and is shocked when Kyouko tells her that she should go out with Kensuke if she's worried about him. Although she initially treats Shizuru as a rival, they become closer as events in the manga progress. The anime shows a younger Kagura. Originally a shy, dutiful and sad young girl, her meeting with Yomi after her mother's death changed her life. She came to love Yomi, who treated her like a sister and was under great emotional stress when she found out that Yomi had turned against the Agency and all of humanity.
Sister-figure of Kagura Tsuchimiya who turned evil because of the power of the sesshōseki. Also, she was the person who killed Kagura Tsuchimiya's father. She was killed by Kagura herself and has turned completely evil in her afterlife. She was extraordinarily talented when alive and slaughtered over 70 ministry agents by herself and defeated the head of the Tsuchimiya clan and his spirit beast, Byakuei. As an evil spirit, she becomes even more powerful. She tries to awaken a great demon sealed in Tokyo and seals a piece of the sesshōseki in Nimura Kensuke. For this, she incurs Kazuhiro's wrath and he takes away her own sesshōseki. Yomi's past is prominently revealed in Ga-Rei: Zero, where she is shown to be more of a tragic heroine. She lost her parents at a young age to specters and was taken in by Isayama Naraku, then head of the Isayama family. Yomi grew to love and respect her foster-father and polished her skills to repay him for his kindness. Her efforts led to her inheritance of the prized Isayama heirloom, the sword Shishio, which held the spiritual beast Nue in it. Before Naraku's death, she was betrothed to Izuna Noriyuki and would have succeeded Naraku as the next Isayama head. However, Naraku's death at the hands of her cousin Mei, who was jealous of her good fortune, and the alteration of Naraku's will, resulted in her being stripped of her position in the family and therefore her entire inheritance. Yomi eventually found out the truth behind her father's death, revealed by Mei herself after the latter lured her out in order to kill her. Partly in self-defense, she killed Mei and avenged Naraku, but was ambushed by Mitogawa Kazuhiro, who wounded her so badly that she became hospitalized, her throat and most of the tendons in her body cut and unrepairable, unable to talk or move. This, in addition to the suspicion that she had murdered Mei, led to a series of events that caused her to succumb to Mitogawa's temptation to accept the sesshōseki. Though Yomi managed to retain some control over her mind, she had nonetheless fallen under the destructive influence of the stone, causing her to kill many members of the Agency. Ultimately, it was her love and desire to protect Kagura that caused her death at Kagura's hands, in a desperate wish that she could remove anything that would harm Kagura, including herself.
The main character in Ga-Rei: Tsuina no shou and appears in vol. 8 of the main series. She is a girl possessed by a curse that brings misfortune upon all those she falls in love with, if she even thinks about love it weakens those around her. Her ability is absorbing and purifying Spirit Energy. She fell in love with Mikado at first sight. In Ga-Rei, she appears in Vol. 8 alongside of Mikado after one year of training overseas, presumably America, and is more confident, cheery, as well as skilled enough to absorb Miasma and discharge it into a spear to destroy a huge spirit. She then asks if Kensuke wants to rejoin the Counter-Measure department if it is rebuilt. She can also fight using a Robot-like suit, Vandam. She is an escort of the White Priestess, Kagura.
The Agency
An old friend of Kagura and ex-fiancée of Isayama Yomi. He uses Kudagitsune, or spirit pipe foxes, to spy on people and fight. He's very perverted and constantly tries to grope Kagura, with painful results. He is part of the information department. Underneath his perverted and cheerfully helpless facade, Izuna is very powerful, able to fight on equal terms with Yomi. He is very knowledgeable on the subject of spirits and is skilled in hojutsu. He treats Kagura like a little sister and demonstrates concern for Kensuke. As Yomi's ex-fiance, he still had feelings for her. Behind all of his jokes and lecherous acts lies a man full of pity and self-loathing. After the Kyuubi arc, he tagged along with Imawano Shizuru to find her sister, Setsuna, but it is still unknown if they managed to locate her. He meets up with Kensuke and Kagura on the mountain and mistakes Izumi for Yomi. Izuna sees a lot of himself in Kensuke, which is why he wants to help Kensuke become stronger so that Kagura won't share the same fate as Yomi. It is revealed that he was blinded when he was poisoned by Mitogawa: now relying on his Kudagitsune to see. He is fatally wounded when he protects Yomi from a stab meant for her. As of chapter 48, Yomi had one of her protectors sacrifice the remaining power of his soul to save Noriyuki. He is seen later defending her from Mine, Sharing the same Evil spirit state Yomi is in. Ga-Rei: Zero reveals how different Noriyuki was before the events of the manga. He was more of a playboy rather than a pervert, which angers his fiancée, Yomi, even though it is shown he does care about her. Ga-Rei: Tsuina no shou reveals he saved Tsuina from an evil spirit and fought Mikado when he was planning to kill her to stop a spirit, claiming "Pretty girls are the country's treasure" and took her under his wing for training. He claims to be interested in her but given his nature he could be joking.
An agent of the Ministry and heir of her clan. She controls paper spirits, or shikigami. She gets along well with Kagura and often tries to get her and Kensuke together. She is very proud and went to fight Kidoumaru when he broke through her shikigami barriers. She ended up badly injured, but landed a critical blow on him. Usually, she is amiable and friendly. She is currently back in her parents' home in Kyoto.
Minister of the Environment as well as Kyouko Mine's grandmother. Her name is written as "Immortal Child". She may be old but she's not a person to mess with. In the events of Ga-Rei: Zero, she retired from her position and gave it to her other granddaughter, Ayame Jinguuji. After Yomi's attack on Ayame and Kiri, she left retirement to resume her former duties in Ayame's place. After the agency was disbanded she watches over Kagura. A side-chapter featuring an 18-year-old Fujiko reveals that she took care of Kagura's grandmother, Ruri, before the formation of the Agency after WWII.
An agent of the Ministry. He is very tall and muscular, as well as a powerful spirit-user. He uses guns to fight. Some of the more comical moments in the manga suggest that he may be homosexual (which is confirmed in the anime). He is an ex-soldier and was hired by a mercenary corporation until the Agency recruited him for his ability to sense spirits. After the department breaks up he disappears until chapter 38. In the anime, he was attracted to both Kensuke and Kazuki, which made them both uncomfortable.
The Minister of Environment during the events of Ga-Rei: Zero and Fujiko Mine's other granddaughter. This character uses a wheelchair. She is nice and kind-hearted person with a relaxed air. While likable, she is very serious and earns her respect from her subordinates. Her personal assistant is Kiri Nikaidou who she affectionately calls "Kiri-chan". She confronts Yomi and is later presumed to be unknown, thus explaining why her grandmother, Mine Fujiko, returns to take her place as the Minister of the Environment. In the last episode, she is seen alive and well in a hospital talking with Kiri. It is hinted in episode 11 that Ayame may be married (thus suggesting that Jinguji may actually be her husband's family name). She is shown taking out a ring and a photograph of her before she became crippled, holding onto a man whose face is not shown. During her confrontation with Yomi, Ayame states that she once killed someone more important to her, hinting that her husband may have suffered corruption himself and was killed by her. Ayame is also the only person who addresses the spiritual beasts (chiefly Ranguren) with nicknames that end in "-chan" (e.g. Ranguren as Ran-chan). The wheels on her wheelchair are inscribed to ward off spirits and it is shown she fights quite well, having been able to combat Yomi briefly.
Ayame's personal assistant who helps her in her duties as minister. She has a serious work attitude and is very loyal to her boss, Ayame, as well as doesn't hesitate to scold others who disrespect her boss. She serves as the disciplinarian and the harsh voice of the Agency, in contrast to Ayame's friendly attitude. She is last seen in hospital talking with Ayame about Yomi's attack on HQ two years ago. She appears to have suffered mental damage due to her ordeal with Yomi, becoming childlike and addressing Ayame as "onee-chan" (elder sister).
An agent of the Ministry. He is a young and sarcastic, annoying yet talented man around the same age as Noriyuki during the events of Ga-Rei: Zero. His weapons are two suitcases that open up at the bottom to reveal rows of muzzles, a kind of multi-row gatling gun, which he also uses as melee weapons. Later in the anime, Yomi tortures him to death with Noriyuki looking on, blaming himself for his (Noriyuki's) inability to kill her, explaining why Kazuki does not appear in the manga.