Shikabane Hime

is a Japanese manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

series written and illustrated by Yoshiichi Akahito. Premiering in Monthly Shōnen Gangan
Monthly Shonen Gangan
is a manga imprint of Square Enix . It publishes manga in several magazines aimed at different reader demographic groups in the Japanese market. Its magazines are home to some popular manga series which were adapted into anime series, like Fullmetal Alchemist, Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit,...

on April 12, 2005, the series centers around the "Corpse Princess" Makina Hoshimura, an undead

Undead

Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...

girl who is hunting down 108 undead corpses

Zombie

Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...

in order to gain entry into heaven with the help of a secret society of anti-corpse Buddhist monks.

Feel and Gainax

Gainax

is a Japanese anime studio famous for productions such as Gunbuster, The Wings of Honneamise, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann which have gone on to critical acclaim and commercial success, as well as for their association with...

partnered together to adapt the series into a thirteen episode anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

series. The first season, , premiered on AT-X

AT-X (company)

is a Japanese anime television network owned by . AT-X, Inc. was founded on June 26, 2000 as a subsidiary of TV Tokyo Medianet, which, in turn, is a subsidiary of TV Tokyo. Its headquarters are in Minato, Tokyo. AT-X network broadcasts anime via satellite and cable since December 24, 1997.AT-X is...

on October 2, 2008. A second season, , aired between January and March 2009. The anime is licensed for North American distribution and release by Funimation Entertainment

Funimation Entertainment

Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...

, which has already started releasing the episodes in subtitled form as Shikabane Hime through various online distribution companies and through its own website.

The series made its North American television debut on the FUNimation Channel

FUNimation Channel

The FUNimation Channel is a 24-hour cable network which broadcasts anime series in the United States. OlympuSAT was chosen as the exclusive distributor of the network....

on November 15, 2010.

Plot

After being murdered, Makina Hoshimura turns into a "living corpse". Armed with dual MAC-11 submachine guns, she must kill 108 other corpses in order to gain entry into heaven. She is assisted in this task by Keisei Tagami, a Buddhist priest with links to an anti-corpse group known as the Kougun Sect. Her ultimate goal is to avenge the death of her family, by destroying the corpses known as the Seven Stars.

After becoming a corpse she was contracted to Keisei Tagami, thus becoming his shikabane hime, throughout the beginning of Season 1, Ouri Kagami, who was raised in the same place as Keisei and thinks of him as a brother of sorts had repeatedly found Makina, first in the temple, finding her cold and most definitely dead, then in the woods and soon after was dragged into the world of shikabane.

Keisei died later on in Season 1 and shifted his contract over to Ouri, making him the new contracted monk of Makina Hoshimura, however, she does not approve of this and greatly misses Keisei. In Season 2, Ouri had spent 6 months training to become a proper contracted monk and soon Makina accepts him as her contracted priest.

Akasha, the betrayer priest, had been working with the Seven Stars (schichisei) and had assisted them throughout their tasks as well as creating new corpses, the Seven Stars had also crashed a plane into the city, creating many corpses and in the later part of Season 2 he attempted to reach the head temple, which when the liquid known as the Joubou (discards impurities from shikabane hime) is drained, reveals a door, the door leads to a large room filled with pillars with many coffins. Akasha had later revealed the secret that the Kougon Cult had kept from Shikabane Hime and Contracted Priests.

It is believed that when a shikabane hime kills 108 shikabane they can then ascend to heaven, however Akasha revealed his shikabane hime, prior to her death had been his lover who he had known for many years, because they both had no families they only trusted one another and knew each other since childhood, when his lover "Hibiki" had incurred a terminal disease, she had come back as a corpse, and then she was contracted to Akasha.

Akasha wished to assist her in her goal and help relieve her of her regret so she could get to heaven, however, one day over 200 shikabane had ambushed them, there were only few pairs of shikabane hime and contracted priests due to the delay in transmitting the information. The ambush had been planned by one of the Seven Stars, Hazama, Akasha came close to killing him, but then Hibika had said "I, have already killed 108 of them". Akasha then asked "WIll you ascend to heaven now, Hibiki?", Hibiki however, with one eye glowing red, had lashed out at Akasha, launching one of her sharp projectiles at him, he was shaken by this, then, Hibiki had started to feel discomfort, then she started to scream as she held her head with the immense pain from within, her hands had turned into claws and her mouth had then grown sharp thin teeth, she no longer looked human, her skin was no longer any kind of human colour, she screamed and then killed 2 contracted priests and a shikabane hime. Akasha was forced to kill her. Her body was placed inside one of the coffins, which had been revealed to contain all shikabane hime who had killed 108 shikabane, for they could not ascend to heaven because they live with the burden of their own regrets.Once shikabane hime kill the 108th corpse, they lose both their nature and regret resulting in becoming a shikabane who only wishes to kill and is unable to control their own actions.

If released from the coffin, which they are kept in by the founder's power, they will be reborn as a breaker, when this happens, they cannot be killed, they live eternally, to prevent this, their Ens are cut off and they are sealed in the coffins where they cannot move much, as Akasha put it "It is an eternal hell where they must live as monsters".

Akasha rued that he turned Hibiki impure and took the Seven Stars Hokuto as his shikabane hime to atone for that. He did this after he had Hokuto rip through the first shikabane hime's coffin, removing the spiritual power that acted as a catalyst for the creation of Ens, the connection between the shikabane himes and the contracted priests.Without this, shikabane hime would either slowly become a regular shikabane or die, eventually they started to lose power as they could not obtain the life energy their contracted priests provided.

Saki, the shikabane hime of Rika, figured out that the reason she and Rika were connected was because they were "friends who are irreplaceable to each other" as Rika had put it, she determined that it didn't matter if the catalyst (which only Makina, Akasha, Ouri, Honda, The Gon Dai Soujou, Akira and Aadahiro had known what it was) was damaged, that it would not make a difference, Makina's wounds, as well as the other shikabane hime's started to heal as they all realised this, thus forging new Ens.

Sadahiro and Akira had broken down the walls of the temple, revealing the coffins, then, Hibiki's coffin had started to move slightly, the lid was shifting, this greatly disturbed and upset Akasha, Akira they open fired at the coffin with the sniper rifle, breaking it down.

His connection to Hibiki had come back, and his connection with Hokuto was breaking, she could no longer feel his life energy (Rune), Makina then started shooting Hokuto, now weaker than ever, Hokuto retreated to Akasha by Hibiki's coffin, he then explained to Hokuto why he took her as his shikabane hime, she then reached out her hand, he was about to hold it, but Hibiki's had also reached out from the broken coffin, he held Hibiki's hand, the En between him and Hokuto had been broken, and Hokuto then killed Akasha, She and Hazama who had been injured earlier, retreated, shikabane in the city brought about by the plane crash had greatly decreased, Ouri and Makina pondered on what to do, now they knew Makina could not ascend to heaven, and if she killed more, she would come closer to becoming a breaker but she realised Hokuto was not "death itself" like Akasha had said, she was just a corpse who forgot that and what it means to live and to die, so Makina wanted to have her remember by killing her.

Makina had found where Hazama and Hokuto were hiding and tried to shoot Hokuto, and even open fired point blank at her face, she then threw her guns to the ground and started repeatedly punching Hokuto, who was smiling and laughing, but the laughing slowly turned into cries. Makina simultaneously spoke about how she was alive, how Hokuto was alive, even though they both died, she had realised what it meant to live herself and the season ended.

There actually is a 26th episode (13 in this season as well) that was released with the DVD as "Shikabane Hime: Kuro - DVD special" although, this episode has nothing to do with the previous one and actually, focuses on the two characters Shuuji Isaki and Minai Ruo as to how and why their contract was formed. So in all fairness, the season and show do truly end on the 12th episode of Kuro, though for those that hoped to see what the ending was like in the anime with the fight between Makina and Hokuto, that is left unresolved.

Contracted Monks

A normal high school boy who was raised at Keisei Tagami's temple. He treats Keisei as his brother even though they are not blood related. Ouri is able to appear where the Shikabanes are because of a mysterious cat who began to talk to him. After the second time talking to the cat, Ouri knew that when he saw the cat he had to follow it, leading him to the corpses. He has also been nicknamed by the children at the temple "Hanagami". Later on after Keisei's death he became Makina's new contracted monk. In the anime, it is strongly implied that he's in love with Makina.

Keisei Tagami was a Buddhist priest under the anti-corpse organization known as the Kōgon Sect. He found Ouri Kagami as a three-year-old child and raised him at his temple orphanage. Keisei was an orphan himself, raised by Makina Hoshimura's father. When the Hoshimura Family was brutally murdered, he agreed to become Makina's contracted monk. He was something of a pervert, often offering (or forcing upon) Ouri sexual posters or skin mags. He died near the end of the first season.

Rika Aragami is the only female contracted monk. She is one of the ten great holy Families. Which are the descendants of the ten senior disciples of the Founder and obligated to become contracted monks to a Shikabane Hime. Not only is she the contracted monk of Saki Amase, but she is well known for her ability to heal others.

The contracted monk of Itsuki Yamagami. Their relationship is a complicated one. While the two seem to have a romantic relationship, they are incapable of acting on their feelings due to Itsuki's nature as a shikibane. Both he and Itsuki try to prevent Ouri from making a similar mistake with Makina, but at the same time their actions show signs that they want Ouri to prove them wrong. Takamasa often fights along side with Itsuki using a bow and arrow.

When the series starts, he is introduced as Ouri's manager. We soon realized that he is the contracted monk of Akira Tōoka and is working undercover to keep an eye on Ouri and Keisei.

The contracted monk of Minai Ruo. He does not care about others, especially Minai, who he treats like a tool. In the OVA its revealed little of his past and his hatred for his older brother. Isaki was made a contracted monk due to his brothers contacts. He intended to use Minai to kill his older brother, and claim the reasons that Minai killed his brother was because he was unholy and became a Shikabane. Isaki and Minai both knew they did not have a bond, but before Minai would turn into a Shikabane he wanted to become higher status to be even higher than keisei and even be the main monks, to bring down his brother. In the end both Minai and Isaki accomplished to have a bond. In the end it turns out that they had a bond because they had a met a long time ago. In Isaki's family store, which young Minai went to frequently. Isaki doesn't show compassion for Minai, but he actually did care for her.

Sougen Takamine

The contracted monk of Kamika Tomoroki and the former mentor of Keisei Tagami.

Kanechika Umehara

The only contracted monk that has two Shikabane Hime. Although in the series, we only follow one of his Shikabane Hime, Flesh. The other's name is Touma. Umehara is known for his perverted nature. He does also have the reputation of being well versed in Shikabane.

Makina is a main character and a contracted "living corpse". She is tasked with killing 108 corpses to gain entrance to heaven. She has formidable physical skills and her weapon of choice are two Ingram MAC-11 machine guns. Her contracted monk was Keisei Tagami before he died. Later in the story, it is revealed that her family discovered the process of making a Shikabane Hime. Later on after Keisei's death, Ouri became her new contracted monk.

Rika's partnered Shikabane Hime. Saki is a 10 year old mischievous girl who enjoys teasing Rika. She is usually seen munching on chips or drinking juice, suggesting that her intense regrets and obsessions might be related to food. Her weapon of choice is a massive hammer. Unlike other Shikabane Hime her contracted monk happens to be one of the ten great holy families, which means that no ordinary Shikabane can defeat her.

Takamasa's Shikabane Hime. She died in an automobile accident and came back with the regret of not living the life of a teenage girl. She bonded with Takamasa because she thought he was a powerful monk and would help her get to Heaven faster. Unfortunately, Takamasa knew nothing about the Shikabane Himes before that. Regardless, the two continued to work as a team. During their time, they began to develop romantic feelings for each other. However, they were unable to act on them because Itsuki was a Shikabane Hime. She fights with a pair of M945 Combat handguns.

Sadahiro's cynical Shikabane Hime. Often, she hits Sadahiro to stop him from saying something. Almost nothing is revealed about her past, except for her cause of death by a Shikabane. She fights using a sniper rifle.

Isaki's Shikabane Hime. Her weapon of choice were a pair of brass knuckles. It was revealed throughout the first season that she committed suicide for killing someone. She believed that her becoming a Shikabane Hime was punishment for her sins, but after meeting Ouri, she came to see it as a way to save others. She did grow close to Ouri, but before a relationship could be formed, Isaki was killed; despite Sadahiro's offer to help her transferring her bond to Ouri, she ultimately allowed herself to be terminated rather than taking up the offer or reverting to a rogue Shikabane. In the OVA of Shikabane Hime, Minai's past is revealed of how she became a Shikabane Hime. Minai was in an abusive relationship and she struck him with a knife which killed him and then she committed suicide. Soon after, the Kōgon Sect got ahold of her. She was intended to be Keisei's Shikabane Hime but Isaki volunteered to be her Priest. From the start Minai was doubted as to whether or not she could be a Shikabane Hime because her contract was incomplete. Isaki and Minai had to have a bond before the contract or else it would be meaningless. So Sadahiro and his Shikabane Hime were both sent to investigate. Later it was revealed that Isaki didn't lie about he having a bond with her; they had indeed met in the past.

Takamine's Shikabane Hime. Nicknamed "The Sword Princess," Kamika has been referred to as the strongest shikabane hime not necessarily for the level of her strength, but her regret and will.

Flesh Backbone

One of Umehara's Shikabane Hime is Flesh Backbone, who is as much an otaku as Umehara himself, although the two can have even more passionate arguments than normal Makina and otaku Keisei would have had over conflicts on two-dimensional vs. three-dimensional or doujinshi vs. figurines. In fact, she was a foreigner who had died in a plane accident on her way to Akihabara. The other Shikabane Hime of Umehara is Touma (who only appeared in the manga), who is away on a vacation of sorts and seems to strike fear in her contracted monk. She was the unknown female that was peeking outside Makina's cave, and she has brought news about Makina.

Shikabane Hime exclusive to manga

A mature Shikabane Hime who only appeared in the manga with her younger partner, Sousetsu Kashio. She uses her whip to attack and tie down her enemies. Presumed to be dead.

A silent Shikabane Hime who is exclusive to the manga, her contract monk is Takehiko Mutou, whom she agrees with his ideals of "killing Shikabane equals to salvation for their souls". Fights with a sniper rifle. Presumed to be killed along with Mutou and several others when they stayed behind to allow the survivors to escape from Hizuchi and Hazama.

The actual younger sister of her contract monk, Jin Kisaragi. She uses a pair of sais

SAIS

SAIS can refer to:* Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, part of The Johns Hopkins University.* Sharjah American International School* Southern Association of Independent Schools...

in battle. She lets her body be ripped apart by Hazama in order to deliver a crippling blow. She was torn into shreds by an angered Hazama along with Jin, who stayed by her side till the end.

A quirky Shikabane Hime who always squabbled with her contract monk, Nagatomo Kashin. She fights with a pair of sub-machine guns like Makina, she was the first to be killed when Hokuto decapitates her with a kick.

A flirty Shikabane Hime who would fight as long as her contract monk, Hayashita Ayamitsu, said she could, as she is constantly craving for fights. She fights with a hand saw which she named "Britonian". Was eaten by Hizuchi after she lost her legs to him, but still managed to cripple him before that.

A young Shikabane Hime who is always seen wearing western clothes and a hat, she gets upset whenever her contract monk, Hayatate Touto, starts his binge on alcoholic drinks. Her weapon is a chain connected to a shield at both ends, used to shield her allies from afar and could even be used as a flail

Flail

A flail is an agricultural implement for threshing.Several tools operate similarly to the agricultural implement and are also called flails:...

. Presumed to be killed with the others.

Shikabane in Anime

Hagino

A vampire like Shikabane who kidnaps women and kills them in groups. His power appears to allow him to control people he bites. He can also transform into bats. It is speculated that he made some of the women kill each other.

Kun Osaki

A J-Pop star who died of a heart disease. She became a Shikabane because she wanted to keep singing. Her manager used his mob connections to keep Osaki's death quiet, as well as any deaths that occur around her. She is angered when her song is interrupted or when someone does not listen to it. Her response to this is usually to kill the person who caused it. She can use her voice as a weapon.

SUV

A Shikabane that takes on the form of an SUV. It lays in wait for people to get into it and start driving. It then takes control and forces the passengers to kill each other.

Bandit

A nameless Shikabane that was formed from a robber who killed his partners and himself when they were surround by the police. He was protective of the money he stole and uses it to attack people.

Tomoharu Kishibe

Initially a normal teenage boy and a friend of Takamasa and Itsuki. He died in a car accident with his parents and sister when a group of teenage drivers made them swerve off the cliff. He gained the power to control the engines of 4WDs and 2WDs. He used his power to kill those teens. After that, he began targeting teenagers who liked to drive fast and their spectators.

Shikabane in manga

The only surviving heir of one of the strongest families of Vampires in Europe who had an appearance of a young man with an aura of nobility, fights alongside with his vassal, Gregorio, an older brother figure whom he calls "Rio" for short. His powers grew immensely large as he completely drains the blood of a dying Gregorio, which awakens Aegis's vampiric nature. Despite that power, he was quickly subdued and sealed in a coffin for "future negotiations".

A sadistic Chinese Shikabane who uses her Taoist magic which she also uses to prevent her eventual death, in battle, her source of magic are ten silver rings that protect her from the "10 forms of death" - burning, drowning

Drowning

Drowning is death from asphyxia due to suffocation caused by water entering the lungs and preventing the absorption of oxygen leading to cerebral hypoxia....

/suffocation

Suffocation

Suffocation is the process of Asphyxia.Suffocation may also refer to:* Suffocation , an American death metal band* "Suffocation", a song on Morbid Angel's debut album, Altars of Madness...

, freezing

Freezing

Freezing or solidification is a phase change in which a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. The reverse process is melting....

, electrocution

Electrocution

Electrocution is a type of electric shock that, as determined by a stopped heart, can end life. Electrocution is frequently used to refer to any electric shock received but is technically incorrect; the choice of definition varies from dictionary to dictionary...

, poison

Poison

In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....

, illness

Illness

Illness is a state of poor health. Illness is sometimes considered another word for disease. Others maintain that fine distinctions exist...

, starvation

Starvation

Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death...

, being crushed, being shot by firearms and being attacked by sharp objects.

Behind her sadistic nature lies a sad past when she was alive where she was nearly eaten by her own family and surviving villagers due to a plague that killed off almost the entire village, she escaped into a valley and was left to die until she met a Taoist Priest who attained immortality via the same magic she uses, but she was forced to make a decision whether she becomes his slave or die in the mountains, Li Hong chose to survive and ended up being his maid, which implied sexual abuse as well. Li Hong then learns his magic on the sly and finally killed the priest when she attained immortality and mastered everything, since then, Li Hong lived an immortal life, killing people on random as time passes.

A Indian Shikabane based on the goddess Kali

Kali

' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...

who has her own cult because of her powers, beauty and charisma, constantly seen dressed as a belly dancer. her abilities includes mind control and usage of illusions, which she can only use with her eyes closed and using a special powder made from mummified corpses as a catalyst. Her proficiency with a pair of scimitars she hides under her skirt is equally deadly as well, Milam was a mysterious Shikabane who is graceful and terrifying at the same time, because she was very well mannered and speaks with politeness like the Princess she was back in her cult.

A vassal

Vassal

A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...

to Aegis and his family, which he served for over 300 hundred years and he fights with a rapier

Rapier

A rapier is a slender, sharply pointed sword, ideally used for thrusting attacks, used mainly in Early Modern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.-Description:...

, although a Shikabane, Gregorio strictly obeys a code of chivalry

Chivalry

Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...

and would do anything to help his current master, Aegis, regain control of the world like how his family used to in the past.

He died shielding an fatal attack meant for Aegis, his blood was then sucked dry from his dying body by Aegis via Gregorio's own dying request.

Seven Stars

The Seven Stars was a group of seven Shikabane who work together for a common goal. They were extremely powerful. Hokuto and Hazama are now the only two left from the Seven Stars and the rest of them all died.

Hokuto

A special Shikabane who has no regrets, obsessions or even nature within her. Her death however, makes her one of the most dangerous, yet powerful undead being around. She was raised as a sacrifice, born to be killed as a child. She never experienced grief, pain, sadness or even happiness. Right after being killed, she is reborn as a Shikabane. She escaped with Hazama in the final episode, but is tracked down by Makina and Ouri. The series ends with her and Makina continuing their battle, with Makina saying that she will make Hokuto remember what it means to be alive.

Isaka

Known for his ability to open portals.

Hazama

Hazama has giant centipedes for arms. At first glance, most assume that he was the leader of the Seven Stars. In reality, he is the right hand of the true leader, Hokuto. He is responsible for the ambush that led to the death of Akasha's Shikibane Hime. After his plan to use Hokuto to assault the Kōgon Sect fails he escapes with her in the final episode.

Kowaku

His curse allows him to change the make up of his body. He was killed by Makina Hoshimura near the end of the first season.

Ena

Ena was obsessed with beauty. His curse allows him to switch from one corpse to another, as long as they are nearby. He was killed by Makina Hoshimura.

Hizuchi

Ouri's mother was responsible for his death. Hizuchi was determined to make Ouri pay for what happened to him. He was killed by Ouri and Makina.

Toya

The most bizarre looking of the Seven Stars. She appears to be a man covered in a coat, but where a head should be, there is a cluster of balloons. Her curse allows her to manipulate the minds of people. She can also place balloons on people that cause their happiness to grow, until it reaches its peak. At that point, the person dies. It is revealed near the end that Toya was a little girl from a very poor family. One day, she and her parents suddenly went to an amusement park for a fun day before they committed suicide. As a result, Toya views death as happiness. She eventually questions herself about her happiness, causing her own balloon to pop and kill her.

Others

Akasha Shishidou

Perhaps one of the pithiest villains after knowing the reason behind his betrayal against the Kōgon Sect. In his younger days, he was one of the top aces in the Kōgon Sect. He was proud and strong in his faith, until he was forced to kill his Shikabane Hime, who was his fiancee when she was alive. Afterwards, he went into exile for 5 years. No news about him was heard till series of recent events resurrection of many Shikabane cases. He allies with the Seven Stars in order to bring down the Kōgon Sect, eventually becoming the Contract Priest for Hokuto. However, he was killed by Hokuto in the final episode when he rejects her for his previous Shikibane Hime, causing her to revert back into a Corpse.

Black Cat

A mysterious black cat that can, at will, be seen or unseen and also can be incorporeal. It always seems to be around Ouri Kagami and he seems to be the only person the cat talks to. It shows up at moments that involve the Shikabane and Shikabane Hime, and gives Ouri clues about them. The intention of this cat is unknown as to whether it is friend or foe. The cat is identical to a pet that Ouri cherished as a child, which died after being run over by a vehicle. Soon afterwards, this cat appeared. Near the end of the series, the cat revealed its true nature with the help of a foe Shikabane who was once a fellow orphan along with Ouri. The cat was made up of a number of children who Ouri's mother had kidnapped trying to fulfill her attachment to this world: to hold her child in her hands. Later, the cat engulfed Ouri in a monstrous form only to help him in the end later disappearing without a trace.

Nozomi Kasuga

A classmate of Ouri, nicknamed Omune-sama or "Breast Goddess". In the first chapter of the manga she and a few other students visited a "man-eating house", where she was attacked and injured by a group of corpses. She was saved by Makina, and since then she's developed a fascination with death. This fascination leads her to stalk Makina and later Ouri. She also becomes attracted to Ouri and desires to become a Shikabane Hime, so she could be with him forever. In the anime, she was manipulated by Toya because they both thought death was beautiful. Toya's power transforms Kasuga, causing her to become more direct and eventually lead her to kill people at her school, until Ouri and Makina stopped her and Toya. However, they were unable to save Kasuga's life. With her last breath, she asked Ouri to make her into a Shikabane Hime. Her last wish goes unfulfilled as she didn't meet the requirements.

Mizuki Inuhiko

A classmate of Ouri. She tends to be very observant and dreams of becoming the president of the student council.

Sumitori

Another classmate of Ouri's. Very innocent and oblivious to the world of Shikabane.

Hiroshige Ushijima

He is the girl-obsessed friend of Ouri Kagami.

Riko

Riko is like the "Mother Hen" of sorts. She is in charge of the Dai-Rin House, which is where Ouri grew up with Keisei.

Terminology

Shikabane

Sometimes referred to as corpses. When a person dies with a powerful regret or obsession, they may become a Shikabane. As a Shikabane, they are undead but retain some degree of memory and intelligence. Their appearance may also differ greatly from that of a human. Shikabane are given superhuman strength and a unique ability or attribute called a curse. Shikabane have no feeling towards living and tend to kill them as driven by their regret or obsession. A Shikabane can be killed by destroying or otherwise severing their brains.

Shikabane Hime

Shikabane Hime are Shikabane that follow the Kōgon Sect. So far only girls of a certain age group can become a Shikabane Hime. Each of them is partnered with a monk, who provides them with life energy called Rune. In exchange, the Shikabane Hime act as shields for their monk. They are used to hunt and kill rogue Shikabane- in fact, once they kill 108 Shikabane, they receive the reward of going to Heaven (this number may be from the number of sins in Buddhism). Shikabane Hime keep their human form but do still have their own curses that occasionally manifest, and unlike rogue Shikabane, Shikabane Hime are not driven by their regrets or obsessions to the same degree of madness. If their partner monk dies and a replacement is not forthcoming, however, the Shikabane Hime usually die or become Shikabane. Despite their contribution to the fight against the rogue Shikabane, they are shunned by most of the Kōgon Sect followers due to their nature as Shikabane.

Contracted Monk

Contracted Monks are the partner monks of the Shikabane Hime. They usually provide their Shikabane Hime with support and is linked by via a bond.

Curse

A curse is a unique power that a Shikabane possess. Generally, it has something to do with their obsession or regret.

Investigator

A monk who acts as support for Contracted Monks. They usually do not have a contract of their own.

Manga

The manga

Manga

series premiered in Japan in the April 12, 2005 issue of Monthly Shōnen Gangan
Monthly Shonen Gangan
is a manga imprint of Square Enix . It publishes manga in several magazines aimed at different reader demographic groups in the Japanese market. Its magazines are home to some popular manga series which were adapted into anime series, like Fullmetal Alchemist, Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit,...

where it is still on-going. Individual chapters are collected and published in tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...

volumes by Square Enix

Square Enix

is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...

. The first volume was released on August 22, 2005; as of January 2010, eleven volumes have been released.

Anime

Produced by Feel and Gainax

Gainax

, is a thirteen episode anime

Anime

adaptation of the manga series. It premiered in Japan on AT-X

AT-X (company)

on October 2, 2008. The episodes also air on BS11

BS11

BS11 may refer to :* a BS postcode area for Bristol, England* BS11 , satellite Japanese television channel broadcasting 3D television programs in 2008...

, Chiba TV

Chiba TV

, doing business as , is a Japanese commercial terrestrial television broadcasting company headquartered at 11-25 Miyako-chō 1-chōme, Chūō-ku, Chiba serving Chiba Prefecture but spill-over is received in the neibouring prefectures. It is a member of the Japanese Association of Independent...

, KBS Kyoto, Sun TV, Tokyo MX TV, TV Aichi, TV Kanagawa and TV Saitama. The opening and ending themes, "Beautiful fighter" and "My story", had a single release from angela

Angela (band)

Angela is a Japanese pop band that's best known for theme songs of anime television shows. The main members are atsuko and KATSU. Their signature upbeat tunes and rich arrangements is a dazzling mix of electronica, dance, rock, swing jazz and ska...

on November 12, 2008.

The series is licensed for North American distribution and release by Funimation Entertainment

Funimation Entertainment

Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...

which is releasing the series as Shikabane Hime. On October 24, 2008, the thirteen episodes began airing online with English subtitles through Funimation's official YouTube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

, Joost

Joost

Joost is an Internet TV service, created by Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis . During 2007-8 Joost used peer-to-peer TV technology to distribute content to their Mozilla-based desktop player; in late 2008 this was migrated to use a Flash-based Web player instead.Joost began development in 2006...

, and Hulu.com channels, with higher end downloadable versions released on the company's own website. Funimation noted that they hope this relatively quick release through online means will help prevent piracy. Traditionally, according to the president of Funimation Entertainment Gen Fukunaga, "by the time a licensing deal is signed to bring a series from Japan to the U.S. the episodes are already available as illegal downloads." On January 18, 2011, British anime distributor Manga Entertainment

Manga Entertainment

Manga Entertainment is a producer, licensor and distributor of Japanese animation in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand...

announced that they will release the first season Aka, on DVD in 2011.

A second season, titled , aired in Japan between January and March 2009. Episode 26 of the series, or Kuro 13, was released as a DVD only episode in August 2009.

External links

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