Alichino

There is no single mythic origin described in the provided sources; instead the term appears in two separate narrative lineages. In Dante's Inferno Alichino is presented as a named member of the Malebranche, a cohort of devils charged with guarding Bolgia Five in the Eighth Circle (Malebolge). Scholarly and popular commentary commonly regards the name as derived from or related to Arlecchino/harlequin and to medieval hellecchino/hellequin topicalities. In Kouyu Shurei's manga Alichino is reused as the label for a class of beautiful demons that offer wishes to desperate people in exchange for their souls; within the manga world a balancing agent called kusabi is born to kill Alichino to protect humanity.

Dante's Malebranche (including Alichino) are depicted collectively in translations and commentary as grotesque, comic, and brawling infernal devils; specific physical detail for the named Alichino in the Dante episode is limited in the cited materials. In Kouyu Shurei's manga Alichino are described as "beautiful demons," often attractive or seductive in appearance; named exemplars include Myobi (white-haired, red-eyed) and other individualized Alichino (e.g., Yui, Matsulika), indicating morphological and gender variation used to lure victims.

In Dante's account Alichino functions as one of the Malebranche who participate in guarding Bolgia Five, engaging in the group's characteristic combativeness and trickery during the canto's episode; the sources emphasize collective policing, quarrelling, and deceptive behavior rather than unique feats of an individual. In the manga Alichino are a class of beings that offer wishes to desperate humans and exact souls as payment; they seduce, bargain with, and can prey upon humans. Individual Alichino exhibit variable behavior — for example, Myobi protects certain humans and delights in fighting other Alichino, while Yui rules a city and permits worship of his human targets rather than immediately consuming their souls.