Reiji Maruko

Reiji "Marco" Maruko
Character information
Rōmaji	Maruko Reiji
Kanji	円子令司
Alias	Marco
Gender	Male
Age	16
Birthday	May 1
Blood type	AB
Height	177 cm
Weight	66 kg
Bench press	60 kg
Status
Affiliation	Hakushū Dinosaurs
Year	1st (high school)
Jersey	4
40 Yard Dash	5.2 seconds
Position	Quarterback/Safety
Team	Hakushū Dinosaurs
Debut
Chapter	168th Down
Voice actors
Japanese	Tomokazu Sugita
Image gallery

Reiji Maruko (円子令司, Maruko Reiji) is a quarterback, safety and captain of the Hakushū Dinosaurs.

Personality

Marco shown relax and somewhat sarcastic and would do anything to win and go to the Christmas bowl such as when Gao was about to beat up Tengu Marco told him do it at the bus he also prefer not to face any team that is strong from the star and ask Sena if they can switch only for him to be glad He didn't when he would had face Shinryuji Nagas it he had made the switch he also panic when something goes wrong such as during the Match between Hakushu and Deimon where Deimon score quickly the moment it started

Synopsis

Marco is a suave-appearing man who ambitiously dreams of winning the Christmas Bowl, yet when encountered by a strong opponent he acts panicked and frightened. He calls himself "Marco" because he feels his real name sounds like a girl's name, and also wears an Italian suit to match his Italian nickname.

In his first year in middle school, he joined the American football team, and also dated Maruko Himuro, who is two years older than him. To impress her, he vowed to win the Christmas Bowl, to show her the "morning sunshine after a victory." He led Hakushu to the SIC District Championship later that year, and then began studying the great teams at the high school level. His teammates encouraged him to give up on his dream of winning the Christmas Bowl because of the strength of the undefeated Teikoku Alexanders, and after witnessing the team play, Marco despaired, realizing that the chances of defeating Teikoku were slim. He became determined to defeat Teikoku using strength, and recruited Gao to accomplish this. He even used Gao's tremendous power to injure opposing players, a strategy that Himuro came to dislike him for.

Marco's skill as a throwing quarterback is never established, as Hakushu's offense is based entirely on him taking the snap and following Gao's block as the large lineman plows through the defense using the "North-South Game". On defense, Marco's skill comes from his ability to follow ball movements and react to them. He can see through a runner's feints, and given the smallest opportunity can steal an unsecured ball using his signature "Screw Bite" technique. He is also able to act as a "Quarterback Spy", precisely following the opposing quarterback's movements and reacting to them. While his strategies are simple and brutal, Marco is effective at determining how to direct his team's defense to stop their opponents, whether by deliberately injuring the quarterback or by sending a defender to mark a player.

Techniques/Strategies

• Ball Handling Expert - Marco can handle the ball in any way, even dangerous ones, without endangering or risking the ball.
• Ball Chasing - Marco only sees the ball without seeing anything else. Not even the Devil Bat Ghost can fool him.
• Screw Bite - Usually in defense a defender will only aim to tackle or fumble the carrier, but Marco's defense is to steal the ball from the carrier by grabbing the ball and spining.
• QB Spy - Marco only chases and defends against the opposing quarterback. He will mark the quarterback only while chasing the ball that he carries.
• Spy - Marco will only focus on a single player, whether or not s/he has the ball.

Trivia

• Marco has played football for 4 years.
• He likes all of the subjects in the schools, especially math.
• Marco's hero is his father.
• Marco can brew his own soda, which is good as he is pretty much always seen having one with him.
• His father is a former member of the mafia and his mother is a fashion designer.

In interviews with Riko Kumabukuro, he has been asked these questions:

• Of all the things you have bought until now, what is the most expensive? = "Armani suit." (250,000 yen, 2,500 Dollars)
• Imagine today is the last of Earth! How would you spend it? = "I'd meet various guys."