Ryou Shirogane

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Ryou Shirogane (Elliot Grant and Ryan Shirogane)

Ryou Shirogane (白金　稜, Shirogane Ryō^?) is a character from the anime series Tokyo Mew Mew. His given name is spelled "Ryou" in the U.S. English manga and "Ryo" in the Singaporean English manga. Ryou is known as Elliot Grant in Mew Mew Power, and Ryan Shirogane in Mew Mew: Amiche Vincenti (Italian version).

1 History
2 Personality
3 Profile
- 3.1 Alto's profile
4 Voice Actors
5 Trivia
6 External links

[edit] History

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

To counteract an alien threat to the Earth, Ryou, with his friend Keiichiro Akasaka, developed a technique to infuse animal DNA to another living beings. Ryou and Keiichiro bond the DNA to five girls with the ray housed inside Café Mew Mew, which is their base of operations.

This stroke of luck has them recruiting Ichigo Momomiya, the first of the five girls to be fused with animal DNA, into the group known as Tokyo Mew Mew, dedicated to saving the world from the aliens and their monsters, the Chimera Anima.

Ryou first appears in episode one of the Tokyo Mew Mew anime and chapter one of the Tokyo Mew Mew manga. Ryou lived in the United States with his parents and was a very bright boy (his IQ is mentioned to over 180 in episode 36). During an archaeological dig, Dr. Shirogane (Ryou's father) discovered the fossilized remains of an ancient race known as Chimera. Dr. Shirogane wanted to know more about the ancient civilization, and so began research for what would become the Mew Project with the aide of his assistant, Keiichiro Akasaka. After reading his father's research notes, Ryou declared that he would follow in his father's footsteps and also become a scientist.

One day, when Ryou was ten, the Chimera his father had found was revived and set the Shirogane mansion on fire, killing both Dr. Shirogane and his wife. All help came too late, and so the two boys traveled back to Japan to complete Dr. Shirogane's Mew Project themselves based on the notes Ryou had memorized.

There is some variation between the accident in the manga and anime. In the manga, both Ryou and Keiichiro were present at the time of the fire, whereas in the anime, the two boys are driving towards the mansion when they discover it is ablaze. Ryou's dog, Daisuke, is additionally only present in the manga version.

During the early stages of the Mew Project in Japan, in order to make sure that the technology was safe, Ryou injected himself on the right side of the neck, thus turning into a cat. This is where his Mew Mark is, and also the reason why he always wears a band around his neck. He calls his cat self "Alto" (incorrectly romanized as "Aruto" in some fansubs). Ryou can remain in this form for up to ten minutes, but if he remains longer he will be stuck as a cat permanently.

[edit] Personality

An attractive and affluent young man, he is generally skeptically humorous and somewhat insensitive, especially to Ichigo. However, he eventually opens up to Ichigo and becomes less of a jerk. Ryou is generally very headstrong and serious. He comes off as distant, rude, hot-tempered, and sarcastic a lot of times, but he also seems to have a lonely side. Although he tends to be unsociable and acts big, there are instances in which Ryou drops this exterior and becomes very kind. Taking responsibility for the Mew Project, he has said that he will protect Ichigo and the other girls no matter what, and has also displayed this numerous times.

[edit] Profile

Name Translation: "稜 Ryou"=edge "白 Shiro"=white "金 gane"= money or steel ("白金"= silver/platinum). The translation of Ryou's surname (Shirogane) suggests that he is incredibly wealthy.
Name Pronunciation: Ryou's first name is hard to pronounce for non-native Japanese speakers. To roughly pronounce his first name, you say "ree" or "lee" and "yo" and the same time. His last name is pronounced "shee-rou-gah-neh". ("R" and "L" sounds in Japanese are interchangeable)
Age: 15-16, as he ages during the series (16 in Mew Mew Power).
Birthday: unknown
Grade: Looking at his age, a good estimate would be 9th or 10th grader. However, it has also been mentioned that he is a potential graduate from an American university.
Height: Unknown. He is the 3rd tallest after Keiichiro and Pie.
Weight: Unknown
Hair Color: Blond
Eye Color: Aquamarine blue
Mew Mark: On the right side of his neck. He wears a collar or turtleneck to conceal his Mew mark, even when swimming. The only time when he doesn't conceal his mark is when he is taking a bath.
Love Interest: It would appear to be Ichigo, though any feelings appear to be unrequited.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Alto (Ryou's cat form)

[edit] Alto's profile

Cat Name: Alto (アルト Aruto)
Cat Name Meaning: In Spanish and Italian, "alto" means high or tall. In Spanish, it can also mean "stop." Also, "alto" is a pitch in singing below soprano.
Fur Color: grey, similar to a Russian Blue, with darker tips at ears, paws and tail
Other Attributes: The tip of his tail is kinked, though it may be coincidental, cats with kinked tails are sometimes seen as a sign of good luck (ie. Siamese cats). Alto always wears a green bandanna around his neck.

Though Ichigo changes into a cat by getting very nervous or excited (in the manga), or being kissed (in the anime), Ryou can transform to a cat and back at will. As a cat, Ryou often comes to Ichigo's rescue and helps her regain her human form by kissing her. He can remain a cat for no longer than 10 minutes or else he will be stuck that way permanently. In the beginning Ichigo has no idea who the cat is, but in the end she finds out.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Voice Actors

In Tokyo Mew Mew, his seiyu is Kouichi Toochika.
In Mew Mew Power, his voice actor is Sean Schemmel, who also voices the Blue Knight.
In Miau Miau Power (Spanish adaptation), his voice actor is Wolfang Galindo.
In Mew Mew: Amiche Vincenti (Italian adaptation), his voice actor is Davide Garbolino, who also voiced the Blue Knight in episodes 17-36.
In As Super Gatinhas (Portuguese adaptation), his voice actor is Thiago Longo.

[edit] Trivia

Ryou bears a resemblance to Lee Chaolan from the Tekken series, as they dress alike with a similar hairstyle and personality, and are both wealthy and orphans. They each also have an alter ego and have a robot on his side, as Lee disguised himself as Violet and had Combot on his side.
It is possible that Ryou was modeled after Hime Azumi's boyfriend, Noda, as they have similar personalites.