Shinobu Jacobs

← Dr. Peace | United Assassins Association | Destroyman →

Shinobu
Shinobu in No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle.
Real name	Scarlet Jacobs
Nickname	{{{nickname}}}
Age	18 years old (No More Heroes) 21 years old (No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle) 28 years old (Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes) 30 years old (No More Heroes III)
Species	Human
Nationality	American
Relatives	"Master" Jacobs (father) ✝ Travis Touchdown (self-proclaimed mentor)
Affiliations	United Assassins Association (ranked eighth)
Ranking match	Santa Destroy High School
Splash taunt	"What's that in your hand, a toy?"
Alter ego	High school student
Notable kills	Three high school students Million Gunman New Destroyman
Weapon	Three Girl Rhumba's Sword (No More Heroes) Jacob's Ladder (No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle)
Status	Alive
Debut	No More Heroes
Battle theme	"Season of the Samurai"
Voiced by	Kimberly Brooks (English) Eri Kitamura (Japanese)

Scarlet Jacobs, better known by her pseudonym Shinobu Jacobs (シノブ・ジェイコブス), or simply Shinobu (シノブ), is a fictional character in the 2007 video game No More Heroes, the 2010 sequel No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle, the 2019 video game Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, and in the upcoming 2021 sequel, No More Heroes III.

She is introduced as an 18-year-old assassin, the youngest confirmed ranked member of the United Assassins Association, and a high school student at the local Santa Destroy High School. Her nationality is unknown, although she is presumably American. She is ranked eighth in the UAA.

Story

No More Heroes

Shinobu in No More Heroes.

In No More Heroes, Shinobu is shown to be impatient and bloodthirsty. Initially, she beared a grudge against Travis Touchdown because she believed he murdered her father, though in truth, Travis had idolized Shinobu's father so much so that he watched all of Jacobs' tapes until they wore out, but had never actually met him in person. It is likely that Travis' twin brother Henry was the one who killed Shinobu's father, as it isn't until Travis activates his beam katana that Shinobu's overall tolerance of him harshens, proclaiming she will finally avenge her father, as Henry wields a beam katana similar to Travis.

She goes to great lengths to hide her profession as an assassin from her fellow classmates, going so far as to kill a small group of students who overheard Travis challenging her to a ranking battle. Shinobu specializes in using her katana, even throwing Travis off guard by using her signature move, Sonic Sword. Once half of her health is lost, she periodically attempts a move which can kill Travis instantly if he is low on health and gets too close. After she is defeated, her right forearm is severed by Travis' blade. Travis reveals that he idolized Shinobu's father so much that he watched all of Jacobs' tapes until they wore out, but had never actually met him in person. Shinobu insists that he's lying and angrily demands him to kill her. Shinobu attempts to kick Travis, but Travis counters her kick and suplexes her, ignoring her cries, opting to spare her life so the two could face each other again in the future.

It is likely that Travis truly could not kill her because of his discomfort in killing women, as revealed with his victory against Holly Summers.

Shinobu later appears with her right hand reattached, to save Travis from being killed by Jeane in the climax of his final Ranking Battle. After it is assumed, Shinobu had followed Travis in secret to learn of his reasons up the ranks.

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

In No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, she returns as a playable character for two levels. She first appears briefly right before the announcement of the assassin battle royale in the UAA office, and her presence is questioned by Travis. Sylvia responds with saying that it was nobody, and that it was just the newspaper delivery man.

She then appears after Travis defeats Dr. Letz Shake, driving a motorcycle with Sylvia riding shotgun in a sidecar. As Travis approaches her, she bows to him, referring to him as "Master", much to his annoyance. She tells him that she got back safely from Asia, with Travis not knowing that she left, saying that her only desire was to become as strong as him, reiterating to what he said to her after their previous fight when he spared her. So, she trained in Asia, becoming the champion there, as shown by her championship belt, impressing Travis. She then tells Travis that she came back to Santa Destroy after hearing that the competition was heating up, and that he was overburdened, which angers Travis upon hearing the remark. Travis asks who told her this, with Shinobu telling him that Sylvia did, who suggested that she should help Travis, much to his chagrin. Travis doesn't want Shinobu's help, saying that this is his war and that he doesn't need help from anybody. However, Shinobu tells him it's too late for that, and before Travis asks her why, she tells him to go to the bathroom first, as it's a long story to explain to him.

Afterwards, Sylvia lets Shinobu take over for Travis in the next two ranks, where she faces Million Gunman, and the newly resurrected Destroyman, now known as New Destroyman. Unlike Travis, Shinobu can jump, use a long range attack, and perform an air attack. After killing Million Gunman, Shinobu goes to the Santa Destroy graveyard, where visits Bishop Shidux's grave to pay respects to Travis's late best friend. A man then shows up to also pay respects to Bishop, in which Shinobu asks him if he was friends with Bishop, to which he says yes and that despite having not met in person, they knew each other well. The man tells Shinobu that Bishop gave him courage, and that he feels indebted to him, but admits to her that he's just rambling on. The man then asks Shinobu if by chance she knows about Travis, in which she says yes, and gives her a sheath to give to Travis, as its from Bishop. Having given her the sheath, he can finally have a peace of mind, and Shinobu promises the man that she'll deliver Bishop's gift to Travis. Shinobu is then contacted by Sylvia, telling her that the next match is ready, while at the same time, the man lights some incense at Bishop's grave before disappearing.

After killing New Destroyman, she finishes explaining to Travis how she defeated the two assassins. She then tries to make advances on Travis, but Travis turns her down, as he does not want to be "like the pervy teacher in a porn", showing his discomfort for taking advantage of a subordinate. He tries to get her to stay afterwards, but rejected, she sadly leaves and does not return afterwards. A fake head of her appears in the final battle, where Jasper Batt Jr. tricks Travis into thinking she, Henry, and Sylvia are dead.

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes

In the ending of Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, Shinobu tracks down Travis to his trailer, asking him to return from hiding, telling him that the assassins await and challenges him to a duel, only to be interrupted by Bad Dog, killing the mood. She then constantly visited Travis. In one of those visits, Shinobu wakes Travis up, telling him that they're surrounded by a group of assassins. Travis at first claims that the assassins are going to be a bunch of pushovers, but Shinobu informs him that they're not those type of assassins. Henry shows up with two members of the 'Order of the Emerald Night', having stalked Shinobu to the location of his trailer. Travis, not wanting to cause a ruckus on his trailer, suggests another place to fight Henry's goons, Shinobu suggests to go to her dojo. She explains that she started teaching martial arts and the ways of Bushido to kids to lead them to a righteous life and that she maintains the dojo with money from assassination jobs. Travis shows concern and asks her to never let kids know about her jobs.

No More Heroes III

Shinobu will return in No More Heroes III.

In the Trading Card Game

There are several Shinobu trading cards in the Design Materials set. These include "Shinobu" Design, "Shinobu" Expressions and Shinobu.

Quotes

No More Heroes

• "What's that in your hand, a toy?"
• "Such a gentleman... Are you asking out of tactical curiosity? Or are you just fucking with me?"
• "I just turned my back... But you didn't strike. You ARE fucking with me."
• "Liar! You, you killed him! Sliced him in two... You sick bastard!"

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

• "You got the hots for me?"
• "You've got no moe!"
• "I'm not done yet."
• "What does... Moe~ mean?"
• "Seriously, it's a long story."
• "Only two? That's nothing. Why don't I just take 'em all?"
• "Yeah. But not over-confident. Unlike you. I can see myself objectively."
• "Don't forget your promise. Double cross me and you're dead."
• "You're not worth the stain on my blade."
• "Sorry, but I gotta make this quick."
• "If you kill me, you can fight Travis. But that's a huge IF."
• "Let's get to the fun."
• "Any last words?"
• "When the gatekeeper to hell asks who sent you, tell him it was Shinobu Jacobs."
• "Enjoy your trip."
• "On to the next one..."
• "My Master's got his hands full. So I'm taking his place-- Not that it matters. The result's gonna be the same. I don't have time for this."
• "Just shut up and fight."
• "Was this supposed to "Spark"? Lame."
• "Enough with your freak show! Now bring it!"
• "That really blows. I can't believe I fell for that."
• "I can kill more fighters for you! Whatever my Master wants."

Trivia

• Shinobu originally had two boss fights in No More Heroes, one occurring later in the rankings. However, it was subsequently removed. However, the theme of her second battle, Samurai Summer, was used for Holly Summers' second battle theme and is still present on the soundtrack.
• Shinobu bears quite a few similarities to Afro, the main character of the anime Afro Samurai:
  • Both wield katanas, have afros, and are seeking revenge on a person who killed their father. It is quite possible that Shinobu's design and background were both inspired by him.
  • It's worth noting that in the Afro Samurai Resurrection movie, a girl looking almost identical to her appears as a background character.
• Shinobu's outfit in No More Heroes is based on the Japanese "kogal" style. In No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, her outfit is based on the Gothic Lolita style.
• Before the events of No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, Shinobu had a prosthetic arm in order to replace the arm that had been cut off by Travis during their ranking battle in the previous game.
• In No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, Shinobu has a glove over her right hand. That is the same hand Travis cut off during their ranking battle in No More Heroes.
• She constantly uses the word "Moe" in different events throughout gameplay, I.E. picking up health/electricity, but has no idea what she is saying herself.
• One of her saving quotes in No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is "What does "moe" mean?"
  • Moe is a Japanese term referring to feelings of strong affection mainly towards characters (usually female) in anime, manga, video games, and other media directed at the otaku market. In this case, this references Shinobu's devotion towards Travis in the game, as she refers to him as "Master", willingly offered to kill more fighters for him, and even tried to make an advance on him.
• When saving, she does not use the toilet like Travis, but instead takes a shower. Oddly enough, always in the same place.
• In No More Heroes: Heroes Paradise, her alternate costume looks like a cheerleader outfit. Apparently, she has a belly button piercing.
• Shinobu's name is a pun on the word shinobi which means "to steal away". It also means ninja. However, "Shinobu" can as a given name mean "endure" or "recall". This depends on how it is written in kanji.
• In No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, her weapon is named "Jacob's Ladder". This is possibly a reference to the film of the same name.
• Shinobu appears to be a fan of Pure White Lover Bizarre Jelly, much like Travis. This is evident due to the key chains attached to the scabbard of her katana.
• Despite popular belief, Shinobu's "Instant Kill" in the first game actually isn't an instant KO at all. On Sweet mode, it barely does half of the normal "Red Heart" of Travis' health (about 35%? of Travis' Health) while on Bitter, it inflicts roughly 70% of Travis' health, though she usually uses this technique when the player had likely taken a lot of damage already, which led most to believe it was an Instant Kill.