Ragu, Elle

エレ・ラグ

Elle Ragu is the 59th Sevalle of Kuruda, a warrior kingdom with a history spanning over 2,000 years. Although she is not the only female Sevalle in history—a title roughly equivalent to a "high warrior," whereas an ordinary warrior is called a Valle—she holds the distinction of being the youngest female ever awarded the title of Sevalle, receiving it at age 14, three years before the start of the series. Her fighting nickname, "Shadow Skill," is also the name of her martial arts style, which Elle masters.
Kuruda-style Kōsappō (交殺法, lit. "combining kill methods")
In the Shadow Skill OAV, it was revealed that the Kuruda style emerged centuries ago from combat skills developed by slaves, who were frequently forced to fight for their lives in gladiatorial arenas. Male gladiators developed open skills, focusing on upper body strength, while women created Shadow skills. As targets of scorn and rape, women often had their hands bound or were otherwise denied their use, forcing them to utilize their legs and smaller, lither bodies to the fullest extent to survive. For this reason, Shadow skills gained a more fearsome yet respected reputation than their counterpart.
The color of Elle's hair is considered somewhat questionable. In the OAV, her hair was shown as two colors: blonde on top, with the hair of her braid and the back of her head a different color (bright red in the movie, a darker shade of blonde in the OAV). In the anime, her hair was a uniform orange color, which can be interpreted as either redhead or strawberry-blonde.
Elle continues to train in the Shadow Skill style, along with her adopted younger brother, Gau Ban. Gau's parents and village had been killed by bandits; when Elle met him at age 10, he had spent the previous year training himself and fighting those same bandits to avenge his parents. Elle decided to take the boy in, although both later admitted to somewhat selfish reasons for doing so. Gau had wanted to use Elle to become strong, and Elle had wanted to see how strong a person raised by her could become.
Elle also has an older brother, Diaz Ragu. A blacksmith and a Valle of Kuruda, Diaz's nickname was the "Black Wing," referring to the blackened-steel boomerangs that were his creation and trademark weapon. His skill was such that many people, including several other Sevalles, believed he would someday rise to become a Sevalle. In fact, becoming a Sevalle was his dream.
Elle and Diaz's parents both died from a rampaging disease when Elle was still young, and she too contracted the same illness. Diaz immediately set out on many dangerous missions to raise the money needed for his sister's medicine. Elle was saved, but Diaz's body was severely weakened by his ordeal, to the point that he had to give up on being a warrior, instead devoting himself to crafting his Black Wing boomerangs. Elle continues to feel guilt for this fact to this day, believing it should have been him to win this title, not her. Though Elle is a fighter first and foremost, and thus has difficulty opening up to other people except through battle, this is especially true regarding her older brother.
Elle also has a reputation as both a heavy drinker and a brawler, often acting without considering the consequences. A running joke throughout the series is how deeply in debt she is, and how any windfalls of money she might come into always immediately go toward either paying off damages to her surroundings or debts accumulated for the same reason. Partway into the series, she gains a job as a waitress and singer at the Green Octopus Inn to help pay off her remaining debts.
Another aspect of Elle's character is that she will not hesitate to challenge someone, or to accept a challenge toward her. She has gone through many battles, and so made a lot of both rivals and enemies. Because of this, there are many rumors throughout Kuruda and beyond about her, ranging from highly confidential ones about her battle with the Kishulanna swordsman Zel Zakulet, to rumors such as the one Kaila Lu Luka said about the 59th Sevalle having a brain that is all muscles.
As Sevalle, Elle has met many enemies who would not hesitate to kill her. She was once a mortal enemy to Faurink Maya the Plasmatizer and her Sui Rem clan. The northern city of Kishulanna, too, does not hold her in the highest of regards, as it is said that Zel Zakulet died during his duel with Elle. (While this is indeed true, Elle is not directly to blame for his death. She did, however, appeal to his warrior's spirit to continue fighting until the very end, which resulted in his death.)
Others consider her an enemy for being the latest (and least-experienced) Sevalle, and so consider her an easier target compared to other Sevalle such as Crimson and Scarface. Many think that by challenging her, they would have a better chance of claiming the title of Sevalle from her. She is also often criticized for "wasting her time" by training Gau, rather than improving her own skills, though of course Elle ignores all this.