Hazel Grouse is a character introduced in Saiyûki Reload's "Even a Worm" arc. A well-dressed foreigner from the wealthy Western continent, he came to Tôgenkyô ostensibly as a churchman, though he's actually a monster hunter following in the footsteps of his late master and father figure. When monsters killed his master during childhood, it left him with an unshakeable need for revenge. He learned about Tôgenkyô from Ukoku years back, and once he discovered the land was now ruled by youkai, he made the journey there with his bodyguard Gat, determined to wipe them all out.
His signature ability lets him harvest souls from defeated youkai and use them to revive humans who died from youkai attacks. Where or when he picked up this technique remains a mystery, and he's also missing chunks of his childhood memories.
Hazel comes across as an elegant young man with silver hair, blue eyes, and a composed expression. He speaks with a distinctive Western accent and formal manner that initially reads as refined and gentle—but he's actually pretty arrogant and has a gift for getting under people's skin. Underneath that polish is a sharp mind paired with serious combat skills. He's genuinely fond of Sanzou, though his dynamic with the three youkai members, particularly Hakkai, is basically antagonistic from the start.
The Reload Gunlock anime gives him a wildly different backstory. There, his youkai-hunting eventually got him cursed and transformed into a youkai himself, which led to him accidentally killing the priest who raised him. Gato—working under orders from the Great Spirit—eventually killed him in turn, but felt remorseful enough to revive him by sharing his life force. This also empowered Hazel's mirror to revive humans using youkai souls. As a side effect of the resurrection, Hazel's memories got scrambled, making him believe he was the one who killed and brought Gato back.
The series climax sees Hazel attempt to kill Sanzou and revive him to recruit him into his demon-extermination crusade. Gojou, Hakkai, and Gokuu step in to stop him, but Gato takes a fatal wound defending Hazel. Before dying, Gato tells him the truth, restoring Hazel's real memories. After the Sanzou party defeats his youkai form, Hazel—realizing he's thrown his life away—asks Sanzou to kill him. Sanzou does, but first offers him a bit of comfort, telling him that nobody's life is ever truly wasted.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
