Jormungand

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Death is their business. And business is good.

"I devoured the five lands. I swallowed the five seas. But I could not reach the sky in this body with no wings, no arms and no legs. I am the world serpent. I am Jormungand."

—Exposition for the Jormungand franchise.

H&C Logistics Incorporated is a humble shipping business... and one of its divisions is the Europe/Africa Weapons Transport Division, a team of nine mercenaries led by one of the company president's children, Koko Hekmatyar, a brilliant weapons dealer. Consisting of hardened soldiers from a wide array of military fields and martial backgrounds, the group is ruthless, efficient, and well known for their ability to quickly remove anything or anyone that gets in their way. Koko's team operates under the goal of "promoting world peace" by ensuring that each side is armed to the teeth... for the right price, of course.

The veterans of the group are alarmed one day when Koko introduces her newest recruit, an enigmatic young boy named Jonah. Jonah is a former child soldier who is not afraid to profess his hatred for anyone who creates, sells, or uses weapons of war, but who nevertheless possesses combat skills on par with even the most accomplished members of the group. Not wasting any time, Koko announces that Jonah will soon get a chance to prove himself in his first "performance review." It seems that a local government has confiscated a shipment of weapons that would upset the balance of power in the entire region. However, the shipment belongs to H&C Incorporated... and Koko Hekmatyar is not a woman who takes others interfering in her business lightly.

Jormungand is an action Manga written and illustrated by Keitaro Takahashi that started its run in 2006. Originally published by Shogakukan, it has been licensed by Viz Media for release in English under their "Viz Signature" brand. An anime adaptation aired beginning April 10, 2012. FUNIMATION has announced a North American license while Dybex has the anime license for the French-speaking market. A Drama CD had been released based on the Orchestra Arc with only Unsho Ishizuka reprising his role as everyone else involved in the Drama CD were replaced.

Tropes used in Jormungand include:
  • Action Girl: Valmet is the one on the team, but every other enemy they encounter seems to have one.
  • Adaptation Expansion: The anime gives Chinatsu a backstory explaining how she met Shishio, simultaneously explaining why she's so messed up and revealing even more creepiness.
  • Aerith and Bob: Character names run the gamut from uncommon to extremely rare, with oddly paired surnames as well. All of the Hekmatyars have western names paired with their middle eastern last name.
  • Anyone Can Die: Quite obvious with this series.
  • Arms Dealer: HCLI's Europe/Africa Weapons Transport Division, headed by Koko, as well as another one in the Asia-Pacific headed by her brother Kasper -- it may well be the majority of HCLI's 'shipping' business.
  • A-Team Firing: Jonah rushes Shishio, both of them firing the whole way with automatic weapons and neither hitting the other despite getting within a few meters before Lehm fishes Jonah out of the situation.
  • Badass: Koko's whole entire group -- logically, since they were hired for it. They've come up against assassination squads, corporations, several armies and militia groups and the CIA, all without losing a member until Volume 7 when a rogue CIA SOG team kills R in the Czech Republic. They get a B-52 load of bombs for their transgression.
  • Badass Boast: "I, Koko Hekmatyr, will never do business on credit!"
  • Book Dumb: Jonah...so very much so. Koko's crew are trying to home school him, but so far it isn't working.
  • Boom! Headshot!: How Lutz finishes off Shishou in the Dubai arc.
  • Brand X:
    • While some countries are freely named, most get labeled as "country X" or "a certain (insert geographic region) nation." They are generally not throwaway countries, however- many can be identified by the situations the team ends up in (conflict over a pipeline, etc.) and dialogue.
    • Averted in the first volume when Koko has a bottle of Coca Cola, with the second half clearly visible in the trademark font.
    • In Episode 5, Koko presents to Ugo what is clearly a Volvo sedan.
  • Brick Joke: During his first gunfight with Koko's group, the Orchestra leader comments how amateur the Dubai SWAT snipers are. At the conclusion of the arc, after she eliminates Orchestra, Koko gives a call to her contacts in the Dubai Police Force and offers them sniper training at bargain rates.
  • Butt Monkey: Lutz, in a literal sense, as he's been shot and stabbed in the butt.
  • Casual Danger Dialog: The team regularly engages in this during action.
  • Child Soldiers: Jonah's past makes many of the mercenaries in his group nervous, as some of them have had combat experience dealing with other child soldiers in the past, none of it pretty.
  • CIA Evil, FBI Good: Well, evil-er. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Scarecrow, a thief and con-man who was recruited to lift profits from illicit transactions and other black funds for the Agency's coffers. Be warned though, he is a rather unpleasant sort. However, his subordinate, Schokolade, is far more sympathetic.
    • However, taken to a whole new level with Hex, who is undoubtedly a Complete Monster when it comes to hunting down terrorists.
  • Cold Sniper / Friendly Sniper: Lehm and Lutz, depending on the scenario.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Most of Koko's men are like this, particularly Lehm and Valmet. After all, why get into a gunfight with a dangerous assassin when all you have to do is snipe them from a kilometer away?
  • Conspicuous CG: The F-22 Raptor at the beginning of the series.
    • The Russian Hind helicopters in episode 2.
    • At certain angles, the CRV and the pick-up truck in the Orchestra arc.
    • The shell casings from the M134 miniguns in Episode 6.
  • Cool but Inefficient: Mildo carries a lot of knives. After kicking her ass, Valmet lectures her: while carrying lots of knives and machetes looks and feels cool, the weight slows her down in a knife fight.
  • Cool Guns: Since Koko is an arms dealer, her men are armed with a plethora of exotic and awesome guns.
  • Corrupt the Cutie: Koko trying to do this on Jonah more after she found out that he fought in several skirmishes in West Asia (Jonah's supposed birthplace in the manga).

Koko: "Follow and obey me, Jonah. I'm an arms dealer. I can teach you to accept guns."

  • Cute and Psycho: This series has no shortage:
    • First is Mildo, a twisted rival female mercenary introduced in Volume 1, who is seemingly obsessed with defeating Valmet in hand-to-hand combat.

Mildo: "Valmet, you're all I ever think about. How you live. How you fight. How bout we beat the living shit out of each other, then I kill you. Sounds fun, eh? Kinda poetic."
Valmet: "No... not at all... you psycho!"

  • Dangerously Genre Savvy: Koko and her henchmen are quite good at assuming that the people they're dealing with might backstab them, so they have backup plans ready. They also go for the most efficient means of taking down particularly dangerous enemies.
  • Dark and Troubled Past:
    • Jonah, but as a Child Soldier, would you expect anything else? His mom and dad were killed by a bombing, and when one of the refugee kids he took responsibility for was killed he slaughtered an entire camp of soldiers.
    • Valmet watched her Finnish UN squad get slaughtered in Africa during a peacekeeping tour. She only survived by hiding under the dead body of one of her soldiers.
    • Ugo was recruited by Koko after her team killed everyone in the room but him when the mafia he worked for tried to pay her with drugs and he was the only one to show disgust. She asks why, but he doesn't tell her that it's because he lost his brother to a drug overdose.
    • Mao was the survivor of a training accident that killed most of his artillery crew.
    • Lehm mentions that his old squad was wiped out while he was still in Delta Force.
    • Chinatsu's got the lead so far. She's the survivor of an opera massacre perpetrated by Orchestra when it was still a group in Paris.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: How Koko took her revenge against Hex after R was gunned down to protect her escape.
  • Double Agent: R is the CIA's mole from the day he worked with Bookman in Bosnia during the Bosnian Wars.
  • Easily Forgiven: At the end of the manga, Koko and the team forgive Jonah for trying to threaten Koko's life.
  • Emotionless Boy: Jonah has shown little emotion since the death-by-bombing of his parents when he was a small child.
  • Enemy Mine: Koko and Curry very briefly team up against Major Pollack's forces.
    • Koko bums a ride from Scarecrow and Schokolade so that none of them get taken out by Chen's snipers.
  • Expy: Outspoken Doctors for Human Rights is essentially Doctors Without Borders.
  • Face Fault: The entire team, whenever Jonah acts like a kid instead of a stone-cold killer.
  • Foreshadowing: When Chinatsu's cowboy hat was shot off her head by Jonah. She warned her mentor to take cover before he was gunned down.
  • Fun with Acronyms: While we don't know what CCAT is, we partially know that HCLI is H&C Logistics Incorporated.
  • Gainaxing: Valmet. Oh dear...
  • Going Commando: Justified with Chinatsu. She never wears panties when going into battle. On her first job, she'd gotten soaked and secretly taken them off and soon realized that her aim was better without them.
  • Gun Porn: Lots. Not to mention that they're illustrated well.
  • The Gunslinger: Jonah, with most of the rest of the mercenary team following close behind.
  • Hannibal Lecture: Karen Lo attempts this on Valmet, telling her that she's weak because her subordinates died. Valmet shrugs it off and points out that the same thing just happened to Karen.
  • He Who Fights Monsters: Hex believes that it's only a matter of time before Koko becomes a Complete Monster like her rival arms dealers. The trope also applies to Hex herself, as she's just as ruthless and unforgiving as the terrorists she hunts.
    • The CO of Tojo's old SR Team was Genre Savvy enough to see that his team was succumbing to this, which is why he let them start a fight with HCLI and get slaughtered.
  • Hime Cut: Koko is a white-haired example, Valmet a black haired one. Both are not Japanese.
  • Homoerotic Subtext: Between Valmet and Koko, mostly from Valmet. Also between Koko and Schokolade in episode 8, somewhat.
  • Hot Chick in a Badass Suit: Koko, just Koko. Valmet on a few moments.
  • Huge Military Girl: Valmet.
  • Inspector Javert: Scarecrow is determined to arrest Koko and take all her money for the CIA. However, Koko often manipulates him as a means to get out of serious jams.
  • Irony: Jonah joining HCLI and Koko's group. He hated arms dealers after all. Koko drives this trope at him after he saved her life from Voshkod 6 harassment in the form of a mildish-like speech on why Jonah's a walking irony.

Koko: "Let's assume you killed me to get back at arms dealers. You'd have to scatter my water boys when they surround you... So, what would you need for that? Guns, of course. Could you live without weapons? Of course not. You'll live your whole life with a gun at hand."

    • During one of their deliveries, Koko is tasked with smuggling an Outspoken Doctors for Human Rights group into a conflict zone in the same plane that she's using to carry antipersonnel flechette artillery rounds to the military.
  • Kneecapping: When Chinatsu's not gunning people down as part of her hitman duties, she apparently likes to build complex mechanical torture devices... including one designed to shoot a bound captive in the knee. 27 times.
  • Lethal Chef: Jonah manages to fry eggs in such a manner that Koko's entire team (sans Tojo and Valmet, who weren't present) are out of commission.
    • This is different in the manga in where Koko, Lehm and Valmet get sick from Jonah's scrambled eggs.
  • Libation for the Dead: Koko leaves a bottle of whiskey on the grave of the team member lost in volume 7.
  • Locking MacGyver in the Store Cupboard: When Koko and her team are trapped in an airbase surrounded by hostile anti aircraft weapons, they take a nearby artillery cannon and load it into their cargo plane, turning it into a makeshift gunship.
  • Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Zig-zagged throughout Episode 3. The Dubai Police Force and Valmet try to use SWAT ballistic shields against Shishou, but the shields can't withstand his assault rifle fire. Using the same type of shield, Chinatsu fares much better against Lehm's suppressed Mk23 pistol. This is justified: Shishou's using an AKS-47 assault rifle with armor piercing rounds, while Lehm's pistol fires .45ACP rounds, which have a strong impact but practically zero armor penetration.
  • Marshmallow Heaven: Koko enjoys one in Valmet's bosom, much to Valmet's delight.
  • Meaningful Name:
    • The title itself. If you read up on the story behind him and tie that up with how arms dealers work nowadays...
    • Valmet. You will understand the significance of this nickname if you know your Finnish small arms/general history/military history.
  • Mega Corp: HCLI can be this partially. Aside from shipping, they also own an aerospace company. Based on Koko's conversation with the chief of the Dubai Police Force that she has no problems getting them set up for marksman training, it is plausible that HCLI also owns a PMC.
  • Moment Killer: Chinatsu interrupts Koko and Valmet's outing.
  • Morality Pet: Koko recruited Jonah for this purpose. She has big plans and needs someone who is loyal but will keep her from becoming a monster, according to R.
  • More Teeth Than the Osmond Family: Chinatsu's mentor.
  • Mugging the Monster: A trio of hitmen hired to take out Koko's team decide to go for Ugo first since he's only a former Mafia member, as opposed to his teammates who are all ex-special forces. This ends badly for them.
    • Not to mention the African pirates who attempt to raid Koko's cargo ship. They find out the hard way that Koko's mercs have More Dakka than they do.
  • Multinational Team: Koko's bodyguards are made up of veterans from many countries with backgrounds as diverse as mafia, army, special forces, SWAT and military intelligence.
  • No Kill Like Overkill: Koko takes out a trio of rogue CIA agents by calling in a B-52 airstrike on them.
  • No Name Given: Chinatsu's assassin mentor in the Japanese version. He's known as Shishio in the VIZ translation. Unofficial ones refer to him as "Teacher".
  • Not So Stoic: During the running firefight with Voshkod 6, a stuffed toy falls into Jonah's hands, which causes him to laugh.
    • Chan has been Affably Evil throughout dinner with Koko, up till when he orders his sniper to kill her and Ugo with Scarecrow and Schokolade. He ends up smashing his walking cane when he finds out his sniper failed.
  • Offscreen Moment of Awesome: We never to get to see the epic knife battle between Valmet and Chan.
  • Pet the Dog: Koko and Tojo teaching Jonah subjects that kids his age learns at school.
  • The Plan: Bookman is trying to manipulate events so that he can use Koko to infiltrate HCLI's sophisticated data network.
  • Present Day: Jormungand's set in 2012. Although the manga doesn't make it clear, at least straight.
  • Pretty Little Headshots: Played with in episode four. An unnamed opera singer falls victim to this trope, but blood splatters on the screen and bleeds from the wound.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Lehm does this twice in Episode 3. First to Jonah, chewing him out for his Leeroy Jenkins actions, aloofness and Death Seeker tendencies; secondly to Shishou, where he deconstructs Orchestra's entire paradigm. Despite speaking in a bored tone reminiscent of Bunta Fujiwara, his contempt for their behavior is clear.
  • Redemption Equals Death: Sort of. After R told Koko that he was a CIA plant during the shootout in downtown Prague. He was able to fight off Hex's attempt to assassinate Koko. The mercenaries (including those under Kaspar) mourn his death.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: Koko's team has this in Episode 6, even Jonah.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge:
    • Chinatsu, after her first confrontation with Koko ends badly.
    • Valmet, to avenge the death of her Finnish Army subordinates, went after Chan.
    • Jonah against Kasper after the latter told him that he indirectly had a hand in the death of his parents via selling of arms.
      • Also when he wipes out an entire army base to avenge the death of one of the orphans under his care.
    • Karen after she finds out that Chan dies. Jonah stops it by wounding her in Africa.
    • Hex after her fiancé died in the 9/11 attacks.
  • Running Gag: Jonah skipping out on classes and Lutz getting shot/stabbed in the ass.
  • Screaming Warrior: Valmet shouted "Hakkaa Päälle!" before facing off against Chan in Africa.
    • Lehm, Hugo, Lutz and Mao have these in Episode 1, when Koko sics them on Kloshkin's men.
  • Shot in the Ass: Played for comedy when Jonah tries to pass through metal detectors.
  • Shown Their Work:
    • The weapons used in Jormungand are well detailed and described.
    • The portrayal of the Bersaglieri, including the trademark black Capercaillie feathers to tell them from other Italian soldiers.
    • The sales contract for the Hind-Ds is in Surprisingly Good English and contains many clauses that one would find in a real business contract.
    • The Dubai Police Force cruisers were shown properly with the green/white colors, except with the lack of contact info and the DPF logo in Arabic.
    • Chan being addressed as "Shao jiang" by Karen. Since most personnel of Taishinhai are ex-PLA soldiers and officers, it is correct that Karen addresses Chan by his rank since this indicates that he used to be with the army.
    • There actually is a Super Hind Mk V gunship; it's a South African upgrade/rebuild of the Hind. A few of them are in service with the militaries of third world countries.
  • Shout-Out: Tojo wants to know whether Valmet would back him up if they were attacked by Colonel Matrix (she'd ditch him -- Koko is the only one she protects).
    • Voshkod 6 and their black tactical uniforms is a reference based on Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6 series.
  • Spider Sense: Chinatsu. Jonah also has some inkling of this.
  • Spoiler Opening: Careful watching of the opening reveals scenes from various arcs of the series.
  • Stepford Smiler: Amalia Trohovski, who was once a professional actor, can instantly tell that Koko's generally happy demeanor is completely fake.
  • Summon Bigger Fish: How Scarecrow gets himself, Schokolade, Koko and Ugo out from Chan's attempt to assassinate the latter two - calling a Super Hind Mk V gunship to come and pick them up. Although that was by Schokolade's insistence.
  • Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: Even though its technically her job to halt Koko's illegal arms dealings in Africa and Europe, Schokolade usually ends up helping her on multiple occasions instead.
  • Tempting Fate: Chinatsu's mentor complains how amateur the Dubai SWAT snipers are, pointing out that pros would've tried to snipe him from a kilometer away. Shortly after, he's taken down by Lutz, who did exactly that.
  • This Is Gonna Suck: Jonah's reaction to being "invited" to spar with Valmet.
  • There Are No Good Executives: The reason why Koko and Kasper have their own bodyguard teams. Same (partially) with Chan.
  • The Wiki Rule: Already has one. Although not much articles.
  • True Companions: The team. This works even when Jonah draws his sidearm against Koko near the end of the manga. And when the team welcomes Jonah back.
  • X Meets Y: Black Lagoon meets Lord of War.
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