Loco

Loco
Characteristics
Name	Loco
Kanji	ロコ
Romanji	Roko
Gender	Female
Age	32
Affiliation	Chess Pieces: Rook
ÄRMs	Ring Dagger (her weapon as a Pawn) "Seven cursed tools" set: Negzero Straw Doll Loco's hammer to 7. are four spikes she hammers into the doll Animal Chain (anime-only supplement)
Seiyū (Japanese)	Sawa Ishige
Voice actor(s) (English)	Sandy Fox

Loco is a fictional character in the popular manga and anime series MÄR. She is a former member of the Chess Pieces, the series' main antagonists, and belonged to the rank of Rook, of which she was the strongest. Loco's name means a patron of healers in the religion of Voodoo, a reference to her ÄRM Straw Doll (Spikes and Hammer).

Background

Loco was born 32 years before the main part of the series. At age 26, Loco, at that point a Pawn, the lowest Chess Piece rank, was given the order to participate in the attacking of a unknown town. While fighting, Loco's only ÄRM the Weapon ÄRM Ring Dagger, was broken, leaving Loco defenseless.

While stumbling throughout the battling village, Loco crossed paths with a midget-like cloaked figure carrying a large suitcase. The cloaked person asked Loco if she wanted strength, to which she answered that she only wanted power to fight with. The cloaked person, before vanishing, gave Loco the suitcase, telling her it was full of seven Darkness ÄRMs, the cost of using being reversed aging. The seven ARMs include:

1. Negzero
2. Straw Doll
3. Hammer
4. Four Spikes

Using the Darkness ÄRMs, Loco eventually increased in the ranking system to the strongest of the Rooks. The Darkness ÄRMs affects had damaged her, however, as her body had been transformed into a young child's by the series' beginning. Her hair is blonde in the anime and light blue in the manga.

Personality

Loco is one of MÄR's most mysterious figures. Acting emotionless at all times, except for the rare show of surprise, Loco finds little importance out of the happenings around her, and prefers to do anything that is seemingly the most successful path to take at the time. Loco's dark personality can also make her cruel at times. Unlike most other Chess Pieces, Loco does not wear her mask on her face (except at Phantom's revival), keeping it on her head's side instead. Loco is intelligent and wise, often being able to deduce problems quickly others find difficult or simply unsolvable. Loco also apparently doesn't enjoy sitting in the background doing nothing when given the chance to fight. Despite constantly being under her Darkness ÄRMs' curse, Loco sees little significance of her reversed aging, instead taking more concern with outside matters. Despite her young appearance and rather emotionless cover, inside she is still a mature woman. Loco also has a crush on the high-ranking Knight Halloween, keeping with her a small doll of the powerful Knight, as seen in the anime.

Loco is also a friend of the Bishop Chaton. Chaton is a loyal friend to Loco and is willing to do anything to help Loco. Despite this, Chaton's perkiness is quick to annoy the dark Loco. In the final anime opening Kaze to RAINBOW, Loco is seen "punishing" Chaton for hugging her using a Darkness ÄRM. Chaton still remians unaffected by Loco's coldness, or rather doesn't seem to understand how Loco is annoyed by this. At the end of the anime, Chaton takes care of the infant Loco. Loco is also apparently friends with the Knight, formerly Rook, Ian.

Loco's appearance is often a common center of jokes throughout the series. An omake segment in the manga comically tries to guess the contents of Loco's suitcase, which had yet to be revealed at that point. During her battle with Nanashi of Team MÄR, Nanashi wonders if there are toys in her suitcase, while Dorothy is more concerned with Loco's "perfect skin" (due to her young body) and how Loco makes her look old rather than the actual battle. Loco is often treated as a child by Chaton, though she only does so because she cares. After being aged back into a baby, the baby Loco has trouble communicating with others, particularly Chaton, something she is angered by.

Plot

Pre-War Games

Loco's first appearance is with many other Chess Pieces, including the Knights and Ian, during the resurrection of the no. 1 Knight Phantom. Both Ian and Loco are then given the orders to capture the princess of Lestava, Snow, who had frozen herself in an attempt to escape the Chess. Once they reach her, the two meet Ginta Toramizu, Jack, and Edward, who had come to rescue the princess. Ian and Ginta have a short battle, during which Loco constantly warns Ian to not take Ginta lightly and asks Ginta why he doesn't simply transform his ÄRM, Babbo. Although Ginta manages to wound Ian's arm, he is only saved when Alan awakens from inside Edward and easily flings away Ian. Loco, realizing what little chance they have of coming out alive, suggests to Ian a retreat, when Halloween appears, under the orders to bring all Chess Pieces to Lestava Castle, and the three leave Snow.

Loco then reappears during a meeting of the Chess Pieces at Lestava Castle, where it is planned their second invasion of MÄR-Heaven. Loco is paired with the Knight Rolan and attack an unnamed town. During the attack, Alviss shows up and fights Rolan, though the battle is quickly cut short by an order to retreat.

War Games

During the War Game battle between Ginta and the Bishop Garon during the first round, Loco, along with Ian and Halloween, watch to see how strong Ginta has become. Loco then takes part in the second round and battles Nanashi. Nanashi, due to Loco's appearance, does not take Loco seriously, however. This was a mistake on Nanashi's part that would lead him to be cursed by Loco's Darkness ÄRMs. Nanashi manages to survive, however, and prevent Loco from fighting anymore by breaking her own active ÄRM. Nanashi, however, falls unconscious due to Loco's attacks, and Loco is titled winner. Loco, however, realizes that she stood no chance against Nanashi from the beginning, becoming unsure of her victory. During the next battle, Loco is also the first to realize that Dorothy's eyes are the same as Diana, the Queen of the Chess Pieces.

After this point, Loco makes very few appearances in the manga, most of which are background, though the anime greatly increases her role. She becomes an important ally to Team MÄR, and helps Ginta and Jack find Alibaba, who had kidnapped the Princess of Reginrave, and it is with her help the princess is rescued. During the night before the final round of the War Games, Chaton and Loco speak with Halloween about his upcoming battle with Alan. Loco wishes Halloween luck, although he comments that she is angry she can't fight anymore, while Chaton wishes that Halloween will lose.

During the two's battle, Loco and Chaton make several comments about the battle, with Loco wishing for Halloween's victory and Chaton for Alan's. Loco uses her rather threatening personality to get Chaton to root for Halloween against her will, and worries about Halloween once he is thrown into the sky to unknown whereabouts. After Phantom's defeat to Ginta, Loco leaves Reginrave Castle along with all the other Chess Pieces to save Chaton and Pozun.

Post-War Games

Loco later reappears with Chaton, the two on a trip through the desert, when they reunite with Team MÄR. Both groups are suddenly attacked by the Ghost Chess, under the orders to capture Team MÄR, accidentally taking Loco and Chaton with them. Teaming up, they all manage to escape from the Ghost Chess. Unfortunately, however, due to Loco's constant use of her Darkness ÄRMs, she is aged back into a baby, to which Chaton takes care of her. At the end of the series, Chaton and Alan live together, taking care of the baby Loco and taking custody of Babbo.

ÄRMs

Loco is the strongest of the Rooks, making her a formidable opponent in battle, though against stronger opponents, such as Nanashi, her attacks are ineffective. Loco keeps all of her ÄRMs in the suitcase strapped on her back. Her ÄRMs are:

• Ring Dagger: A ring Weapon ÄRM, transforms into a dagger. Loco had this ÄRM during the First Great War, but it was broken just before she gained the Darkness ÄRMs.
• Negzero: A pendant Darkness ÄRM that paralyzes the target, the side-effect is to reverse its user's aging.
• Straw Doll (Spikes and Hammer): A Darkness ÄRM in the shape of a straw man. Five metal stakes are hammered into ringed points on the straw man's body to damage the enemy in a Voodoo doll fashion. Using this ÄRM causes the user to decrease in age.
• Animal Chain (anime only): A torc ÄRM that metamorphoses people into animals which came into Loco's possession for a short period of time.

Additionally, Loco has five unknown Darkness ÄRMs that she has never been shown in action. It is unknown if using the Darkness ÄRM causes permenant de-aging, though more likely an age decrease through every use. If that's the case, the cost is a benefit by possibly increasing life span.

Trivia

• Loco is stronger than half of the Bishops.