Dante

Dante (ダンテ, Dante) is a supporting character in BNA: Brand New Animal. He is the coach of the Bears Baseball Team. He is an aye-aye Beastman.

Appearance
In his aye-aye form, he has large, floppy ears, a long face, and a big mouth. His outfit consists of a white, short-sleeved henley shirt, white pants, and brown flip flops. He has a purple birthmark covering his left eye, and a pink nose.

In his youth, he had a tall and athletic build, a black birthmark over his eye, and brown hair. His beastman form resembled an aye-aye more, with triangle shaped ears, a bushy tail, and tan face.

Personality
He initially appears as a lazy, apathetic coach, until it is revealed he is coerced into fixing the matches by the mafia. In his youth, he was a driven and passionate baseball player, only to have his hopes dashed by discrimination. He is an alcoholic.

He rekindles his love for baseball during the baseball league finals, and gives Michiru a much needed fiery boost of encouragement.

Background
Dante had hopes of playing in the major leagues ever since he caught a baseball at a game during his childhood.

When he grew up, Dante joined the Odaibo team in the mainland. He was the first beastman to join a major league baseball team and made the papers. Dante is initially optimistic and joyful but he faces discrimination everywhere, from fans and even teammates. Eventually he explodes during a match, and in a fury, attacks the players on the field.

He later comes to Anima City and becomes a coach for the Bears Baseball Team.

Brand New Animal
During the course of the season, he is pressured to fix matches and to make the Bears lose. When Michiru joins the team and the Bears begin a winning streak, the mafia get angry and threaten him to force the Bears to lose. During the finale, he sneaks into the mafia hideout and steals the gambling winnings. Shirou intercepts and takes the money from him. Dante later encourages Michiru to win the game. The Bears lose, and the mafia boss tries handing Dante his pay but he refuses.

Special Abilities

 * Stealth: Dante is able to crawl from ceilings, enter guarded spaces, and steal locked items undetected.

Trivia

 * Dante is likely a reference to Danpei Tange from Osamu Dezzaki's Ashita no Joe.

Etymology

 * Dante is a contracted form of the Italian name Durante which means ‘steadfast, enduring’ from the Latin "durus" meaning "hard, firm".