Ga-rei
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section may contain excessive or improper use of copyrighted images and/or audio files. Please review the use of non-free media according to policy and guidelines, correct any violations, then remove this tag once compliant. See the talk page for details. This article has been tagged since February 2008. |
| The Enchained Spiritual Beast [GA-REI] | |
|---|---|
| 喰霊 (Ga-rei) |
|
| Genre | Action, Comedy, Romance, Supernatural |
| Manga | |
| Author | Segawa Hajime |
| Publisher |  Kadokawa Shoten |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Magazine | Shōnen Ace |
| Original run | 26 October 2005 – ongoing |
| Volumes | 6 |
The Enchained Spiritual Beast [GA-REI] (喰霊 ga rei?), also simply known as Ga-rei, is an ongoing supernatural action manga by Segawa Hajime (瀬川 はじめ Hajime Segawa?). It has been serialized by Kadokawa Shoten in the magazine Monthly Shōnen Ace and collected in five tankobon volumes as of October 2007. It has been revealed that a anime will be coming out soon.
Contents |
[edit] Story
 |
Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
Life is slightly depressing and normal for high-schooler Kensuke Nimura - except that he can see ghosts. This ability generally hinders him more than it helps him, until he encounters Kagura Tsuchimiya while being pursued by evil spirits. They accidentally kiss and fight off the spirits together. The next day, she transfers into his class. Kagura is an agent of a government agency that defends the public against supernatural enemies. She wields a Ga-rei, a spirit beast that kills these spirits. Kensuke's spiritual awareness and his attraction to Kagura forces him to follow her to the agency, where he is recruited to fight the supernatural.
- Yomi arc
Their first enemy is Yomi Isayama, an old friend of Kagura's, now an evil spirit due to a stone known as the sesshouseki. Also introduced is another old friend, the perverted Izuna Noriyuki. She tries to release an ancient immortal demon sealed under Tokyo. The Agency manage to stop her after a long battle, resealing the demon and killing Yomi in the process. A mysterious boy removes her sesshouseki, and disappears.
- Juugondou arc
The next story arc concerns the re-emergence of a sect known as the Juugondou and its heir, Shizuru Imawano. She encounters and alternatively threatens and flirts with Kensuke, angering Kagura. Soon, it turns into a contest between her and Kagura as to who can collect more sesshouseki, with Kensuke as the prize. The pressure is building as Kagura starts losing control of her Ga-rei Byakuei, and the Juugondou arrive in full force. Shockingly, Shizuru's long-lost sister Setsuna arrives, kills her father and takes over the Juugondou. She attacks and demolishes the Agency, and the government try to distance themselves from the Agency for fear of revealing secrets to the public. Kagura, Kensuke, Kyouko and Iwahata survive, and meet Izuna and Shizuru at an agency hideout.
[edit] Characters
|
|
Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
[edit] The Agency
- Kensuke Nimura (弐村 剣輔 Nimura Kensuke?)
- The protagonist, an ordinary high school student who has had the ability to see ghosts ever since he was a kid. He always felt different as his ability caused quite a burden for him, (especially when it came to girls) but things changed after meeting Kagura. He practices kendo, and utilizes his skills during missions. The storyline concerns his growth as a spirit-user, his main weapon being a sword. He supports Kagura in her lows, and a bond develops between, until Kagura finally confesses to her attraction to him. Kensuke is also chased by Shizuru Imawano, albeit less seriously, leading to Kagura's jealousy. After the attack on the agency headquarters, they are forced to hide in an Agency cottage.
- He may be developing feelings for Kagura though he does have perverted thoughts about her sometimes. He wants to protect her no matter what. Has a sesshouseki (an evil stone made from the Nine-Tailed Fox's powers) embedded near his heart.
- Kagura mentions that Kensuke has a unique presence which puts spirits at ease and even Byakuei feels more secure when Kensuke is near.
- Kagura Tsuchimiya (土宮 神楽 Tsuchimiya Kagura?)
- Always smiling, Kagura is the heroine of the story. She is feisty and ambitious and can put up a good fight with her Byakuei Shiro who is in the form of a dragon. She gains another one during chapter 15 of the manga. She controls him from the seal on her back and a long binding chain that is connected to her and Shiro, so the pain that Shiro feels also effects her as well. She is stronger and motivated because of the support that Kensuke gives her. She obviously has feelings for Kensuke as she gets jealous when Shizuru and Kensuke are spotted alone together and she's shocked when Kyouko tells her that she should go out with Kensuke if she's worried about him. She calls him Ken-chan. Although she initially treats Shizuru as a rival, they become closer.
- Noriyuki Izuna (飯綱 紀之 Izuna Noriyuki?)
- An old friend of Kagura, also ex-fiance of Isayama Yomi. Uses Kudagetsune, spirit foxes to spy on people and fight. He's very perverted, and constantly tries to grope Kagura, with painful results (for him). He is part of the information department.
- Underneath his perverted and cheerfully helpless facade, Izuna is very powerful, able to fight on equal terms with Yomi. He is very knowledgable on the subject of spirits and is skilled at creating barriers. He treats Kagura like a little sister (aside from groping her) and demonstrates concern for Kensuke. As Yomi's ex-fiance, he still had feelings for her. Behind all of his jokes and lecherous acts lies a man full of pity and self-loathing.
- Izuna sees a lot of himself in Kensuke, which is why he wants to help Kesuke become stronger so that Kagura doesn't share the same fate as Yomi.
- Kyouko Mine (峰 京子 Mine Kyōko?)
- An agent of the ministry, heir of her clan. She controls shikigamis (paper spirits). She is good friends with Kagura, and often tries to get her and Kensuke together. She is very proud, and went to fight Kidoumaru when he broke through her shikigami barriers. She ended up badly injured, but landed a critical blow on him. Usually, she is amiable and friendly.
- Fujiko Mine (峰 不死子 Mine Fujiko?)
- Head of the ministry as well as Kyouko Mine's grandmother. She may be old but she's not a person to mess with.
- Iwahata (岩端 Iwahata?)
- An agent of the ministry, he dislikes Izuna. He is very tall and muscular, and a powerful spirit-user. Some of the more comical moments in the manga suggest that he may be homosexual. He is an ex-soldier, and was hired by a mercenary corporation until the agency recruited him for his ability to sense spirits.
[edit] Juugondou
- Shizuru Imawano (忌野 静流 Imawano Shizuru?)
- A mysterious girl who first encounters Kensaku at school, and then corners him in the bathroom. She demonstrates knowledge of the sesshouseki and threatens him with a gun, but then flirts with him. She reveals she has a sesshouseki of her own on a necklace. Karuga arrives to help Kensaku, and she fights Shizuru. Shizuru reveals her spirit beast, but when more spectators arrive, she walks away. They encounter her several more times, and she proposes a competition between her and Kagura to obtain the most sesshouseki, with Kensuke as the prize. Her father, the head of the Juugondou organization arrives, but is killed off almost immediately by her long-lost sister Setsuna and the other members in a coup. Her father manages to rescue her, and then dies. Her sister dismisses her as useless and tries to kill her during the Juugondou attack on the ministry, although she is rescued. She is forced to hide in an Agency location with Kagura, Kensuke, Kyouko, Iwahata and Izuna.
- Shizuru is a lively and flirtatious girl but is emotionally closed-off, and gets angry with herself when she gets closer to Kagura and Kensuke, as she is afraid of becoming too involved. She has been forced to kill from a young age, and feels that there is no way out of the path set for her as heir to a criminal organization, something Kagura sympathizes with.
- Setsuna Imawano ( Imawano Setsuna?)
- Shizuru's sister, who used to be very close with her. She was a genius of the Juugondou, which made the head of the Juugondou, her father, feel threatened. He tried to have her assassinated, and she disappeared, leaving Shizuru distraught. She turns up when her father comes to Tokyo, and kills him immediately with the other members in a coup, leving her in control of the Juugondou. Accompanying her is Kazuhiro, the mysterious boy who seems to be the keeper of the sesshouseki. She attacks the Agency and kills most of the agents, except for Kagura, Kensuke, Kyouko and Iwahata. She sets on her subordinates - a werewolf- on them, and kills him when he fails.
- Setsuna is a skilled fighter, able to easily toy with Kensuke. She has the "Eye of Satori", a telepathic ability that enables her to read minds. As a consequence, one of her eyes is markedly different from the other. She has a spirit beast, a water-using ogre-like creature called Suiko (Water Tiger). She is ruthless and ambitious, willing to kill her own sister and showing no mercy to her own subordinates.
[edit] Antagonists
- Yomi Isayama (諫山 黄泉 Isayama Yomi?)
- Sister-figure of Kagura Tsuchimiya who turned evil because of the power of sesshouseki. Also, she was the person who killed Kagura Tsuchimiya's father. She was killed by Kagura herself and has turned completely evil in her afterlife. She was extraordinarily talented when alive and slaughtered over 70 ministry agents by herself, and defeated the head of the Tsuchimiya clan and his spirit beast Byakuei. As an evil spirit, she becomes even more powerful. She tries to awaken a great demon sealed in Tokyo, and seals a piece of sesshouseki in Kensaku. For this, she incurs Kazuhiro's wrath, and he takes away her own sesshouseki. She dies when the demon is re-sealed.
- Kidoumaru (鬼童丸?)
- A spirit who helps Yomi. He is a swordsman in samurai attire, and is very powerful. He is critically injured by Kyouko, but not before he almost kills her. He is finished off by Kagura.
- Kazuhiro Mitogawa (三途河 カズヒロ Mitogawa Kazuhiro?)
- A boy who used to belong to the agency. he was captured by the sesshouseki and became one of its minions. He was the one who gave Yomi her sesshouseki, and later took it away. He mentions a "Lord Tamamo" as his overlord, who may be the one behind the recent incidents involving the sesshouseki. After Yomi's death, he is next seen participating in the Juugondou coup as Shizuru's sister's underling. He removes Kagura and Kensuke's souls from their bodies, and takes them to a spirit dimension he calls "Tamamo Garden" (Seaweed Garden), where they encounter Lord Tamamo.
He uses insect-related magic, and seems to have powers related to the sesshouseki, such as being able to remove the souls of people who possess them. One of his eyes seems to contain a sesshouseki.
- Lord Tamamo
- The successor to the Kyuubi, he is the mastermind behind the sesshouseki-related incidents that have occurred, and Kazuhiro's overlord. He used to be a demon-user who became an evil spirit of incredible power after death. He is first identified in chapter 19, when Kazuhiro removes Kagura's and Kensuke's souls and takes them to Tamamo Garden. When Kagura attacks him, Tamamo intervenes and reveals himself. Tamamo tells them to fight and search for the ten sesshouseki, and that the one who collects them all will control the Kyuubi, and be its true successor.
Lord Tamamo doesn't seem to have a discernible personality, and appears quite inhuman, however more may be revealed in later chapters.
[edit] Spiritual Beasts
- Byakuei (白叡?)
- Kagura's beast. A dragon with chains wrapped around it. The chains also connect to Kagura and whenever Byakuei gets injured, Kagura will get hurt also. He is one of the most powerful spirit beasts on earth. He was sealed in ancient times and has been passed down to the head of the Tsuchimiya family for generations. A lengthy ritual is required to seal Byakuei inside the recipient, and Byakuei is never completely released, as he would break free of the seal and devour his owner.
- In the fight against the immortal demon, Kagura tried to fully release Byakuei as she thought she was going to die. While she didn't, Byakuei's seal had been weakened, and he started going out of control. Kagura initially wanted to kill him with the power of the Kyuubi, but is now reluctant, as he is the only family she has. She is currently keeping him under control, but their fate is uncertain.
- Nue (鵺 ぬえ?)
- Yomi's spirit beast, is at nearly the same level as Byakuei.
- Kurofoudo (黒四駑 くろふぉーど?)
- Shizuru's spirit beast, was originally sealed within an iron knife, but Shizuru drew him out. He utilises lighting-based attacks.
[edit] Terms
- Sesshouseki
- A stone made by the crystallization of the Nine-Tailed Fox's spiritual power when it was defeated hundreds of years ago. There are several spread all over the world. As the power that they are made from is inherently evil, they tend to corrupt their user's minds and consume their bodies and minds, in return for temporarily limitless spirit power. There are two in Kagura's earrings and one in Kensuke's body, near his heart. Kazuhiro appears to be their "keeper" of sorts, as he gave one to Yomi and later took it away. They are the reason for Yomi's metamorphosis into an evil murderer, and are extremely dangerous.
- A person who possesses sesshouseki will have advanced regenerative abilities, and may even be able to slow their aging, as demonstrated by Kazuhiro.
- Shikigami
- Paper spirits used by Kyouko in her magic. They are pieces of papers with incantations on them that can be used in several different ways, such as making them into paper giants or barriers. The papers with incantations used are known as Fuda
- Houjitsu
- Spells used by most spirit-users, usually preceded by a lengthy Buddhist chant, that usually create some sort of nature-related attack such as a lightning bolt. They are used in conjunction with hand seals.
- Juugondou (呪禁道?)
- Taoist magic that developed in the shadow of Onmyou, and was later banned. Its practitioners were driven underground, and reformed under the guise of a smuggling syndicate. They have since resurfaced.
[edit] Reception
|
|
Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
[edit] Manga
Ga-Rei is published by Kadokawa Shoten in the shōnen magazine Shōnen Ace and collected in six tankobon volumes as of April 2008.
| # | Release date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2006-05-26 | ISBN 978-4-04-713824-7 |
| 2 | 2006-07-26 | ISBN 978-4-04-713836-0 |
| 3 | 2006-11-25 | ISBN 978-4-04-713874-2 |
| 4 | 2007-04-26 | ISBN 978-4-04-713915-2 |
| 5 | 2007-10-26 | ISBN 978-4-04-713979-4 |
| 6 | 2008-04-26 | ISBN 978-4-04-715046-1 |
This incomplete list is frequently updated to include new information.
