Kamikaze (manga)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the manga. For other uses, see Kamikaze (disambiguation).
| Kamikaze | |||
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| 神・風 (Kami.Kaze) |
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| Genre | Shōnen | ||
| Manga | |||
| Authored by | Satoshi Shiki | ||
| Publisher |  Kodansha   TOKYOPOP |
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| Serialized in | |||
| Original run | 1998 – 2003 | ||
| No. of volumes | 7 | ||
Kami-Kaze (神・風) is a 7 volume-long manga by Satoshi Shiki.
The series is published by Kodansha in Japanese, TokyoPop in English. In Singapore, it is published by Chuang Yi in Simplified Chinese.
Contents |
[edit] Story
The story centers around Mikogami Misao (御子神 みさお), the legendary Girl of Water, whose blood can unlock the prison that holds the fabled 88 Beasts. A group of supernatural warriors wants her blood for this purpose, but one rebel warrior is bent on protecting Misao: Ishigami Kamuro. Kamuro's past is mysterious & his reasons for saving Misao are not yet known. These warriors make up the Matsurowanu Kegai no Tami (化外の民 Kegai no Tami for short).
[edit] Background
One thousand years ago a band of evil demons known as the 88 Beasts descended upon Earth, threatening humanity. Then, five powerful warriors, the pure-blood members of the mystical tribes known as the Matsurowanu Kegai no Tami (ones that lived by the laws of Amanarimichi, "natural philosophy") each possessing the powers of the five natural elements: Utsuho (Void), Kaze (Wind), Ho (Fire), Hani (Earth), Mizu (Water) stood before the beasts, and successfully defeated them. Just as they were being sent down into a dimensional prison the Beasts casts a spell upon three of the warriors Sky, Wind, and Fire, so that when the time comes the descendants of the cursed warriors will be lured into freeing the Beasts, allowing them another chance at total annihilation of mankind. Upon passing of a thousand years, the cursed descendants turn their backs on the two that were not affected: Earth and Water. They now seek to locate the gates to the dimensional prison that hold the 88 Beasts. And the only way these gates can be unlocked is to apply the blood of the Matsurowanu Kegai no Tami upon the gates. And it is for this reason that the descendants of Earth and Water are being hunted down by their former allies...
[edit] Characters
[edit] Matsurowanu Kegai no Tami Descendants
Mizu(Water)
- Mikogami Misao is an orphan living in a nunnery with kindly women. She is the "Girl of Mizu (Water)", whose blood can bring back the 88 beasts who were banished 1,000 years ago. Because of this, she is wanted by the Shiranami five. Misao wants to be friends with "Sakurai" (Aiguma), who everyone believes is scary and psychotic. Misao is a timid, naive, but kind girl who often lived her life the way she thought it is appropriate. But when Ishigami comes forward asking for her help to stop the resurrection of the 88 Beasts, for the first time Misao speaks up on her own, and this gives her new sense of confidence and inner strength that she had kept locked away in her for so long. In addition, the "true" self, Misao the Girl of Water, seemed to have awakened as a result of the newfound strength, and she will not hesitate to unleash her fury upon those who crosses her. Her Water power appears very formidable and destructive, but having lived a sheltered high school life for so long she still hasn't grasped her full potential.
- Mikogami Sae the former chief of Mizu No Tami tribe and grandmother to Misao. She explains to Misao about the impending conflict among the Kegai No Tami tribes over the resurrection of the 88 Beasts, and that she is the only one left with the capabilities of the Mizu therefore she must become the next Chief of her tribe. She is killed by Kaede and her body shredded to pieces, but she sticks around just long enough to give her a piece of her own justice.
Chi or Hani (Earth)
- Ishigami Kamuro (石神 カムロ), The Man of Earth (Chi), is a mysterious warrior who is a part of the Kegai no Tami. He has decided to protect Misao for reasons unknown to the reader (for now), but there is hint that at one point the two had been in love in the past. He was born with a stone in his hand, which he claims helps him to heighten his combat instincts, along with closing his eyes. He has also said he has yet to find an opponent who can exceed his instincts, but later finds this opponent in the form of Higa-sama. Afterwards Ishigami gives the stone to Misao, as a reminder of her promise to fight at his side. Unfortunately, without the stone, he is vulnerable. Ishigami wields a katana for a weapon: the legendary Kamikaze, passed down through generations of the Chi tribe, that is almost indestructible and can absorb the attacks of the enemies as well as spirits which enhances the swordpower. His other powers are not yet disclosed. It is apparent that in order to keep the KamiKaze in its shape, the carrier must kill his direct kin.
- Ishigami Daidara is the previous chief of the Chi and grandfather of Kamuro. He is responsible for preserving the powerful Kamikaze, which has been passed down among the Chi tribe for many generations. After the Shiranami Five sacked the Chi village and annihilated the inhabitants, Daidara tells Kamuro to kill him so that he can become stronger to stop the rival Kegai No Tamis from resurrecting the Beasts.
- Aida a high schooler and probably one of the few Chi No Tami now left. After school he emerges as the Kegai No Tami Hunter, pursuing and executing any Ho No Tami and Kaze No Tami members. Like Ishigami he also wields the Kamikaze, but it's a shorter blade. He too is on a mission to protect Misao, but he is comparably weaker than Kamuro.
Ho (Fire)
- Higa (比嘉), The Man of Fire, is one of the cursed descendants of the Kegai No Tami bent on freeing the 88 Beasts. As his name suggests, he has powers over fire, and is very strong. He can 'plant' fiery seeds in the air that will ignite upon anyone who moves while being surrounded by it. He is cold-hearted and boastful of his strengths. He defeats Ishigami easily in a battle in Volume One and kidnaps Misao.
Kaze (Wind)
- Kaede (かえで), The Lady of Wind is the wife and ally of Higa. Little is known of her at this moment. She has powers over Wind, and she is steadfast on her duty as Chief of Kaze No Tami to protect her clan, and will go over great lengths to do so. It is suggested that Kaede is a lesbian, forcing her subordinate, Aiguma, to sleep with her. However, she's likely to be bisexual, for she did have a child with Higa. She was sacrificed to the torii of the wind in Volume 4.
Utsuho (Void or Sky)
- Kayano, the chief of the Utsuho no Tami a few years before the start of the Kami-Kaze timeline, is implied to have been the Chief of his clan for a Thousand Years. He dissolved the hypnotic spell placed upon the Sky(Void), Fire and Wind Clans which triggered the start of the ressurection of the 88 beasts.
[edit] The Amatsu Three
The Amatsu Three are warriors under direct subordination to either Higa or Kaede. They may also me part of the Kegai No Tami clans.
- Aiguma (藍隈), who is known as Sakurai at school, is a tomboy with no friends. She works directly under Kaede, though half of the time she seems a bit afraid of her mistress, probably due to Kaede's sexual desires toward her. She seem very skillful with knives, and she also packs plenty of speed with it. It is believed she is from the tribe of Kaze No Tami.
- Kaenguma (火焔隈), is a cocky young man with the ability to control fire (He belongs to the same tribe as Higa).
- Beniguma (紅隈), a middle-schooler with love for and power over animals (think The Beastmaster). She confides that she kills so there would be less humans to hurt the animals. She is abandoned by her group after a battle at school that went awry and left her seriously injured. She is tagging along with Ishigami though it is not certain if she has become his new ally. She also has a dog, Lancelot, who is also as vicious a killer as she is.
- Oba, a middle aged woman who manages the team. Her powers are yet unknown but she is just as strong and vicious, and carries a rifle. She is like the mother figure of the group.
[edit] The Shiranami Five
The Shiranami Five are supernatural warriors, also part of the Kegai No Tami, with demonic powers which was a result of genetic alteration with the cells of the 88 Beasts. They are Higa's henchmen.
- Rihei is a loud mouthed freak with electronic arms that can slice a head off as easily as a sword as well as fire bullets and bombs. He often wears goggles or mask, probably to hide his hideous face. His past is not known at the moment.
- Rikimaru is a deformed yet super strong giant who speaks little and is wiser of the Five. He has unusually elongated body. His faith in the 88 beasts has wavered when he saw its true evil nature, it isn't known yet where he now stands.
- Kikunosuke, the self-proclaimed "Punk Goddess of Fortune", as this name suggests, he is gay. He was born with one hand in shape of a blade and as a result was rejected at birth and by his foster parents, hence his hatred for the humans.
- Jyuzo,(introduced in Vol. 2), a man with ability to 'stretch' his body parts into unusual proportions. His other power is known as 'controller' meaning he can meld into the bodies of the Beasts and control them at his will.
- Hinomoto,(introduced in Vol. 2), with incredible strength. Little else is known of him at the moment.
[edit] Humans
- Keiko, a reporter and close friend to Misao. It seems they grew up together at an orphanage. She is intelligent and always ready to tackle on new stories.
[edit] Release status
The first 4 volumes has been published by Tokyopop. Book 5 is scheduled for 12th June 2007. The series is already completed in Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.
[edit] Drama CDs
A 2-CD audio drama has been released. The seiyuu cast is quite impressive, with Akira Ishida and Satsuki Yukino as Ishigami and Mikogami respectively.
Other notable seiyū include:
- Ai Orikasa (Kaede)
- Katsuyuki Konishi (Kaenguma)
- Toshihiko Seki (Higa)
- Ryo Hirohashi (Beniguma)
[edit] Trivia
Whenever Aiguma fails a mission, Kaede punishes her by forcing them to sleep together, implying that Kaede is a lesbian. However, she's likely to be bisexual, for she did have a child with Higa.
