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"Bentley-san, though the bamboo forest is dense, water flows through it without effort."
— Rioichi Cooper talking to Bentley.^[src]

Rioichi Cooper

In Game Information


Gender		Male

Species		Raccoon

Affiliations		Cooper Clan Cooper Gang (in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time

Weapons		Twin bamboo canes Ninjato

Current Status		Deceased

Real World Information


Appearances		Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus Sly 2: Band of Thieves Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time

Voice Actor		Steven Blum

Rioichi Cooper was a member of the Cooper Clan who lived in Feudal Japan during the 14th and 15th century. He was the developer of the Ninja Spire Jump and the Leaping Dragon Technique, both of which were utilized highly during his thieving career. Rioichi was also a master chef who invented sushi and owned a renowned sushi restaurant in Japan.

BiographyEdit

Becoming a Sushi ChefEdit

When he was a young man, Rioichi went on a fishing trip one day and caught a giant, ferocious great white shark. He was about to kill the shark but it pleaded for its life. That is when Rioichi noticed a mysterious mark of the Cooper Clan on the shark's chest. Rioichi spared his life and in return the shark swore loyalty to Rioichi and served as his mount at war. They were victorious together and were graciously rewarded by the Emperor.^[1]

As years passed, the shark grew too old to fight, and knowing of Rioichi's dreams to begin a sushi house, the shark asked Rioichi to honorably sacrifice his life and use him to start his sushi restaurant. At the shark's funeral it was a bittersweet end; Rioichi wept for his friend, but he also produced the finest, sweetest, most succulent great white shark sashimi. It was a big hit which led to Rioichi building his famous sushi house. This shop also provided the perfect cover for his thieving exploits.^[1]

Writing in the Thievius RaccoonusEdit

While sneaking into the thickly fortified castles of Feudal Japan, Rioichi developed the Ninja Spire Jump.^[2] He also developed a technique that allowed him to jump large distances between spires, which he named the Leaping Dragon.^[3]

Some time during his life, Rioichi visited the Cooper Vault on Kaine Island and added his knowledge to that of his ancestors. In addition to leaving his weapons and armor in his section of the Vault, he also built an obstacle course which required one to use the Ninja Spire Jump to navigate through several swords that thrust out of the walls.^[4]

Imprisonment and AftermathEdit

When the Shogun's sushi was poisoned, Rioichi was framed for the crime and was imprisoned in a modern-security jail. He later found out that it was a high-ranking military commander named El Jefe who had framed and jailed him. Rioichi was soon freed by Sly Cooper and later learned that Sly was his descendant. After Sly freed Rioichi, him and the gang helped him reclaim his restaurant while they took down El Jefe. During the assault, El Jefe stole Rioichi's cane and gave it to his boss, Le Paradox.^[3]

Later, Rioichi was brought to present-day Paris by Bentley and Murray to help the ancestors retrieve their canes from Le Paradox's blimp. Rioichi retrieved his cane first, and then retrieved Bob Cooper's before returning to his time period.^[3]

After the Le Paradox incident, Rioichi continued to refine his master ninja techniques, as well as his sushi. While his thefts were never detected, his sushi restaurant was recognized as the finest in Japan.^[3]

CharacteristicsEdit

PersonalityEdit

He was the first man who ever make sushi. He made his own resturant called rioichi sushi resturant. By day he is a sushi chef but by night he is the ninja. As a ninja with great wisdom and discipline, Rioichi was calm, witty and very respectful towards others such as Sly and the gang, using honorifics when addressing them and speaking in a riddle-like fashion with Japanese proverbs.^[3]

AbilitiesEdit

Rioichi's original technique was the Ninja Spire Jump which allowed him to land on narrow spires as light as a feather; giving him the ability to infiltrate the heavily fortified castles and temples of Feudal Japan with ease.^[2] Some time later, he created an extension to this technique called the Leaping Dragon. By channeling his focus toward a target while on a spire, Rioichi was able to jump great distances.^[3]

Rioichi was also skilled with his twin bamboo canes and used them for different methods of attack. One such attack consisted of Rioichi using his canes to shoot a barrage of blue shuriken in front of him. Another similar attack consisted of him charging his canes and then slamming them down to release a shockwave.^[3]

After many years of training, Rioichi had gained an unrivaled knowledge and mastery of Ninjutsu, the traditional Japanese technique of espionage, characterized by stealthy movement and camouflage. This allowed him to sprint without alerting anyone nearby.^[3]

In addition to his thieving skills Rioichi was also a master chef, himself being the creator of sushi. His restaurant was often considered the finest in Japan.^[3]

AppearancesEdit

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
- Tide of Terror (cutscene)
- Fully restored Thievius Raccoonus cutscene
Sly 2: Band of Thieves
- A Shadow from the Past (cutscene)
- A Starry-Eyed Encounter (mentioned)
Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves
- Beginning of the End (cutscene)
- Honor Among Thieves (Section in Cooper Vault)
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
- Paris Prologue (cutscene)
- Turning Japanese
- Paris Epilogue

TriviaEdit

Rioichi's coloration is reminiscent to that of raccoon dogs.
Rioichi was named after the localization producer of Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, Ryoichi Hasegawa.
An early design of Rioichi's cane in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time had two bandages, one on the pole and one on the hook. In the finalized version it had only the pole bandage.
Rioichi has shown signs of being extremely in touch with his spiritual side. This is shown when the player is idle from the controller. Rioichi is meditating and he then begins to start floating above the ground.
While unselected at the Ancient Japan hideout, Rioichi can be seen trying to catch a fly with chopsticks. This is possibly a reference to The Karate Kid, where the protagonist's Japanese teacher, Mr. Myagi, tries to catch a fly for good luck, though constantly fails.
According to a wanted post near the Japan Hideout, Rioichi has been wanted for 1 Billion Yen.