River-n-White, Lord

Lord River-n-White (リヴァー・N・ホワイト卿), also known as Taro Kitashirakawa (北白川太郎), is the king of Bunnyland and head of Project Blue.

Description[]

River-n-White appears in many of Video System's games, under several different names. In Rabio Lepus and the SukuSuku Inufuku series, his name is Kitashirakawa Taro. In the Sonic Wings games, his full name is River-n-White, although in-game he is sometimes called just "River" or "White." His English name comes from a rearrangement of his Japanese family name, 北白川: 北 means "north" (N), 白 means "white," and 川 means "river."

River-n-White is an older man with shaggy white hair and beard. He almost always wears a hat; however, his clothing differs from game to game. In the Sonic Wings games, he can be seen in an aviator's cap with goggles, a pilot's outfit, a white coat with a bow tie, or a brown suit and hat. He also wears the latter most often in the SukuSuku Inufuku series. In Rabio Lepus and some other games and cameos, he dresses as the king of Bunnyland in a white, full-body bunny suit with a crown. He wears a kimono in The Mahjong Touhaiden. He always wears a monocle when appearing as Lord River-n-White, but no eyewear when appearing as Taro Kitashirakawa.

River-n-White was an ace pilot in World War II.^[1] Besides being a pilot and a king, River-n-White is also the commander of Project Blue, and he is often shown giving orders to the others. Most of the other pilots seem to respect him, although his frequent battle partner Kowful teases him about his age. He is grandfather to Komomo Kitashirakawa, the princess of Bunnyland, and her younger sister Kotomi. When Kotomi flies as a pilot, River-n-White is strict with her training.

Rabio Lepus[]

Taro Kitashirakawa, the king of Bunnyland, has been kidnapped by Yohmaoh along with his granddaughters Princess Komomo and Kotomi. in Rabio Lepus. The king is held captive in Yohmaoh's asteroid base, awaiting rescue by Rabio and Lepus.

Rabio Lepus Special[]

The king reprises his role from the original game, and his appearance is essentially the same, except he now wears a white cape over his shoulders. In the game manual artwork, the cape is held on with a carrot-shaped clasp.

Metal Rabbit[]

Taro Kitashirakawa again appears as the king of Bunnyland on an advertisement for this unreleased game, which was to share the setting of Rabio Lepus.

Ojanko High School[]

Taro Kitashirakawa appears as the high school's principal, still wearing his bunny suit but without a crown.

Sonic Wings[]

Taro Kitashirakawa appears in the Sonic Wings series as the British Lord River-n-White, who is flying his last series of missions before his retirement. (However, in later games he continues to fight and serves as the commander of Project Blue.)

In his single-player ending, River-n-White returns home to his two granddaughters, Kotomi and Komomo. They don't believe for a minute that their grandfather is really a fighter pilot!

In two-player mode, River-n-White fights alongside William Sid Pride. He offers to help William find his kidnapped fiancée, and once she is rescued, River-n-White officiates at their wedding.

The Mahjong Touhaiden[]

River-n-White appears as an opponent.

Sonic Wings 2[]

River-n-White appears during Angela and Arthur's two-player ending, where he congratulates the pilots on their bravery in the fight. Because players complained about River-n-White not being a playable character in Sonic Wings 2, the developers made him a pilot again in the next game.^[1]

Sonic Wings 3[]

River-n-White flies together with Kowful. The odd couple is for some reason aligned with Germany for the first and only time for either of them. The two have a playfully antagonistic relationship: Kowful calls River old, but River declares he was stronger than Kowful when he was younger.

In two-player mode, Kowful and River fight with Malcolm. More than once, Malcolm declares them to be fools, while River-n-White finds both of his partners to be rude.

One-Player Mode Endings[]

JP Bermuda final stage; US: It is revealed that River was testing a virtual reality game for Kowful. He complains that the somersaults in the game weren't realistic enough, after which Kowful grabs him and swings him around by his feet.
JP Mars final stage: After their victory, Kowful claims that he hasn't "rampaged" enough. River tells him he can rampage as much as he wants, and Kowful swings him around again.

Two-Player Mode Endings[]

JP Bermuda final stage; US: Kowful mentions that Malcolm has been busy since he appeared in Tao Taido, while River comments that he isn't familiar with the game. Malcolm decides to educate them by showing them his "desperation technique," one of his more sparkly poses. When Kowful declares that the pose looks stupid, Malcolm is infuriated and attacks them with his Malcolm Flash.
JP Mars final stage: Malcolm was playing a Sonic Wings 3 video game with Kowful and River. Kowful notes that he and River had the higher score, and reminds Malcolm that the loser has to buy dinner. Kowful and River discuss whether they should have steak, French cuisine, or Chinese food. Malcolm swears and blinds them with his Malcolm Flash.

Sonic Wings Special/Sonic Wings Limited[]

World War II Ace

A veteran warrior who received the title of ace in World War II. He is usually a friendly old man, but in reality he is the captain of a supranational peacekeeping organization that supports world peace from behind the scenes. When the world is in crisis, the captain himself takes part in operations. He has two [grand]daughters.

—Sonic Wings Special manual

River-n-White now shares the cockpit with Alex's cat Pictus. River claims that even though he is old, he must keep in shape by fighting. Although River-n-White is austere and serene most of the time, he does show a less dignified side in some of his endings. In two-player mode, he and Pictus are paired with Whity.

River-n-White also appears several times in his role as captain of Project Blue, including receiving radio transmissions with Glenda and meeting with other pilots at his desk. In Sonic Wings Special only, he also appears as the king of Bunnyland in Kotomi's single-player ending if the final stage is Bermuda.

One-Player Mode Endings[]

Fight in Orbit final stage: River-n-White relates his adventure to Alex, who complains that he's heard the story many times before.
Another Dimension final stage: River-n-White returns home to Kotomi and Komomo.
Bermuda or Mars final stage: Pictus plays with the controls of River-n-White's plane, causing it to crash.

Two-Player Mode Endings[]

Fight in Orbit final stage: River-n-White tells Whity he should be in the circus, and Whity shoots his plane down in anger.
Another Dimension final stage: River-n-White and Pictus spy on Whity to see how he is able to fly a plane. He turns out to be Keith Bishop in a dolphin costume.
Bermuda or Mars final stage: Whity introduces Lord River-n-White to his two siblings, Acty and Avanti. River-n-White assumes that they protect the ocean until Acty corrects him by pointing out that they control it as well.

SukuSuku Inufuku[]

Taro Kitashirakawa "mysterious old man" also called "Inufuku Gentleman" (犬福紳士). He occasionally appears to challenge the player with bonus quiz questions, then abruptly disappears. If the player successfully completes the game, Kitashirakawa appears as "God" (神様), dressed as a winged Inufuku with a crown and halo, to present the final form of the player's Inufuku.