Kazuki Fuuchouin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kazuki Fuuchouin (風鳥院花月 (かづき) Fūchōin Kazuki] is a fictional character in the manga / anime series GetBackers. In the original Japanese version, he's voiced by Soichiro Hoshi, while his childhood voice is done by Yumiko Kobayashi. (First appearances - manga:act 4 part 1, anime: episode 6)
Contents |
[edit] Person
Kazuki is the scion of the noble Fuuchouin family, and his fighting abilities derive from the family school, which emphasizes grace (麗). He is graceful and charming, and is often mistaken for a woman because of his long hair and feminine face. But when angered, his fury is such that his notorious other title is "Prince of Fear". He's also one of the characters who's frequently drawn in chibi form, as he's the butt of many gay / woman jokes. It does not help that he sometimes does wear women's clothes in his line of job as an information-seeker, as is shown when he coerces information about the Hall of Hell out of an Ura follower in a bar.
His family house was destroyed, and his family killed, in a mysterious fire when Kazuki was in his early teens (which was revealed to be an attack by an enemy clan, who uses black strings); he subsequently fled to the Infinity Fortress with Juubei and Sakura Kakei, where he led a gang known as 'Fuuga' (風雅 Fūga, translation: 'Elegance') before joining Volts under the Thunder Emperor. He left the Infinity Fortress after the departure of Ginji and Shido, leaving Juubei behind. However, the IL retrieval brought them back together. Kazuki is usually an ally of the GetBackers, due to his friendship with Ginji. He and Ban tolerate each other, but are not close; Ban's unflattering nickname for him is "Ito-maki" (thread spool)]. As the leader of Fuuga, he once ascended into the Beltline to test his strength. At that time he was only able to survive for a week, but during that time he gained the nickname the "Prince of Fear" due to the cruelty he exhibited in order to survive the undead creatures of the Beltline. The cruelty was induced by the "Stigma" his left eye carries, as a sign of time lost to the Beltline.
It has been revealed that the enemy clan that had destroyed Kazuki's clan, the Kokuchouin, was actually related to Kazuki, under an elaborate clan system that involved the Fuuchouin (known as the Omote, or the 'Outside' clan), the Kokuchouin (known as the Ura; the 'Inside', or 'Hidden' clan), and Saizou Toufuuin's clan, the Higashi Fuuchouin ('East Fuuchouin') and Akame's school, the Nishi Fuuchouin ('West Fuuchoin'). Of these schools of string manipulators there was a traditional recognition that the Omote Fuuchouin was the superior clan, as was seen when Yohan Kokuchouin, whilst recognized as a talented child and therefore should be put under the wing of the clan leader i.e. Kazuki's late father, was not accepted into the 'Omote' clan because of his despisable 'Ura' blood.
Relationship between the Ura and the Omote is always fraught with conflict and envy. The Ura is not allowed to appear in public. During the Ura-Omote clan war, five Ura fighters spoke to Kazuki disdainfully about the beauty and the arrogance of the Omote and how, with the wipeout of the Omote, it would be the 'shadow' of the Ura that would now rule the clan. It was also shown that the Ura was abstained from joining the traditional duelling contest between the houses due to this matter. The fact that Yohan is able to 'copy' every string martial art that he sees did less to calm the suspicions of the other clans. Quoting Kazuki's father, 'The Ura are shadows, and must not come into the joyful light of this festival'. This double standard situation was apparently what caused the attack and the massacre of the Omote clan. The enmity survived even to the days of Yuuri and Maiya of the Kokuchouin, who belittle Kazuki when they confronted him, MakubeX and the GB duo upon their entrance into the Beltline. Yuuri was especially harsh in saying Kazuki was the cause for Saizou's (emotional) sufferings all these years. But in reality, something else was at work.
In the Shinjuku area, Kazuki is an annaiya, or information seeker, who searches for information or a person at a price. This is shown when he helps Paul to seek for the whereabouts Takeru Teshimine, Ginji's foster father and former leader (and supposedly, symbol) of the Lower Town before VOLTS came into being. It is during this moment when he realizes that the forces of the Kokuchouin clan is at work in the mysterious depths of the Infinite Fortress. It is probably from his career as an information-seeker that he seems to be the most informative Lower Town resident (excluding MakubeX, the Gen Pharmacist and Kurodou Akabane) about the mysteries of the Infinite Fortress. While fighting against Saizou, who boasted of his strength after he activated his Black String seal, Kazuki explained to him that the 'Stigma' is not merely a device to increase one's strength. He said that the mark is a sign that one is chosen by the Infinite Fotress to achieve a specific mission, even in the face of death. This property was manifested in his final fight with Yohan.
As it turned out, Yohan was Kazuki's younger brother. For fear that the stigma Yohan bore would be an ill omen to the clan, the patriarch of the clan initially wanted to kill the infant. Under the pleas of his mother, Yohan was instead given to the Ura for adoption. As for Kazuki, he was told that the child was still-born. After learning the truth, the older brother tore out his "Stigma" eye and used a technique which he shouldn't have known: the Phoenix (Apparently, as Kazuki's mother mentioned, this skill should only be passed down from mother-in-law to daughter-in-law.) Using this skill, Kazuki has solved the misunderstanding between his younger brother, Yohan. He tells him that he was forgiven by everyone. Both brothers are knocked unconscious. Yohan awakens to find his stigma has vanished!
[edit] Abilities
Kazuki uses white koto strings (in the manga's English translation, they were described as harp strings) in battle; the strings also have other uses such as listening in on distant conversations. The Fuuchouin String Arts is regarded as one of the most versatile fighting techniques in the Infinity Fortress as it comprises attack and defense usinfg the same weapon. Because of these skills, he is often called "Ito no Kazuki" (絃の花月 Kazuki of the Strings), an epithet which, albeit sounding harmless enough, is one of the most feared names of the Infinite Fortress. The strings are stored in two bells tied to the front right strand of his hair to ease manipulation (most of the time, Kazuki is portrayed as a dominantly left-handed person, as he wields the bells among his left fingers and manipulate them with his right—a task usually linked with the less dominant hand. However, in his battle against Saizou, he displays some dexterity with his right hand). Ayamine Rando once joked that Kazuki's strings come from the fourth dimension (referring to Doraemon; Kazuki's bells are resemblant to that of the blue cat robot).
Though his fighting skills are far above average, Ban often discredits them. Also, it can be noted that he often ends up badly hurt even if he wins a fight. Sometimes, he even loses them as well. (To be fair to him, Ban often gets whacked up too before he wins a fight.) To emphasize his "mid-tier" status, even as he was berserking as the Prince of Fear, Shido Fuyuki was able to stop him easily by grabbing his arm firmly without using any special powers. Indeed, Yohan mentioned to the Voodoo King that perhaps the Beastmaster would be an even greater threat than Kazuki. However, this is mainly because of the influence of Shido's Chimera, a relic of the Maryuudo and one of the three keys to Babylon.
During the IL arc, Kazuki describes his art as derivations from natural phenomena, particularly those connected to water such as mists and rains. This is why many of the techniques are named after such phenomena, for example 'Torrent' and 'Misty Rain'. Kazuki's greatest technique, the 'Empty Moon', uses super-fast strings to shut his enemy, creating a vacuum which will be opened later, much like the lunar phases, forcing the air from outside to slash his opponent. This technique was used on Saizou Toufuuin, an ex-Fuuga member who supposedly betrayed him but was actually protecting him from Youhan's purges. However in the Divine Design arc, when Uryuu orders Kazuki to use his strongest attack on Juubei, Kazuki launches the 'Comet', a technique where Kazuki shots uncounted strings towards his opponent from above, much like the celestial phenomenon itself.
The reason for Kazuki's strings' unnatural strength is the amount of vibration applied on them by Kazuki's fingers. Though it is hard to imagine how to make the countless strings vibrate whilst performing the intricate techniques, Kazuki seems to be able to do so naturally (One theory is that he focuses his "qi" through his strings. Indeed, he could often be seen concentrating before unleashing his moves. If so, Juubei's notion that 'the Fuuchouin and the Kakei are derived from the same style, which, if combined, will have enormous power' is true, as the Kakei-ryuu is shown as a 'qi' manipulation technique). This vibration technique must be particularly potent as Kazuki's string shields can protect him from virtually any physical attack, as was shown when he protected Hevn from Semimaru Kanade, the most powerful of the Kiryuudo 7, in the 'Get Back the Eternal Bond' arc, and even explosions, as was shown when he, Shido and Ren were caught off-guard by Masaki Kurusu in the latest arc. However, it has been shown that this shield can be broken by sufficient strength, or completely by-passed (by Masaki's "light", for example).
In the anime, Kazuki's true strength is never shown, (or rather downtoned, for the sake of the children in the audience) albeit it seems that a lot of people fear him, or at least heard of his (notorious) prowess as VOLTS' "Ito no Kazuki". In the manga, the true essence of his battle potential (or rather, the strength of the Fuuchouin-ryuu) is regularly shown, in order to give contrast to his gentle demeanour. For instance, Kazuki can rip away arms and legs, bind people to the point of losing the nervous system, sew people's eyes and mouths for showing disrespect before him and put people under 'cursed strings' (note: not black strings) which cut people into seven pieces if they are to move a muscle. Kazuki is one of the fighters which earned the respect of the Kiryuudo 7, and remarked as 'able to fight one against hundred' Kiryuudo warriors, which are less than human. In 'Get Back the Lost Time', when Kazuki totally lost self-control in his 'Stigma'-induced Prince of Fear mode, he is shown smiling gleefully amidst bloody Ura fighters, many of which are already decapitated by his strings, with blood spattered on his face. Before that, during the 'Oath' Rest arc, he spends a few sleepless days pursuing people connected to the Ura and killing them mercilessly in the backstreets of Urashinjuku, as revenge for the taking of Juubei, Uryuu and Sakura.
[edit] The Red String
Aside from the usual white strings, Kazuki also uses a special string, the Red String. In the Divine Design arc, when Kazuki's soul was trapped by Uryuu, the Red String flew from his side to Juubei so that Juubei knew that Kazuki was in grave danger. In an intense moment it is revealed that the Red String is a symbol of an oath between Kazuki and Juubei, apparently made after the massacre of the Fuuchouin clan, that whenever Kazuki 'strays' (as is shown when he is under the Divine Design spell), Juubei is to kill him to save others from Kazuki's purges. Juubei, however, does not kill Kazuki in the moment but let his blood, derived when he received the 'Comet' from Kazuki, reddens Kazuki's white strings so that the illusion of 'red' strings will release Kazuki's ensnared soul from the Divine Design world. In the manga, Kazuki also used the Red String to summon Saizou Toufuuin, another member of the Fuuchouin String School, to him when the Fuuga team was assembling to get ready for the tournament in the Voodoo Child arc.
[edit] See also
- Fuuga, the group led by Kazuki before VOLTS was formed.
[edit] Trivia
- Kazuki's name can also be romanized as "Kadzuki" or "Kaduki". It is written with character that translate as "flower" and "moon". The name itself implies 'pleasant peace', which corresponded to Kazuki's unerrant calm before each battle. It can also mean 'the first of a new generation', which denotes his unique position as one of the last heirs (including his supposed brother, Youhan) of the Fuuchouin bloodline. Many of Kazuki's names techniques have "moon" in the name, such as "Empty Moon". The moon theme was later emphasized when the gang Fuuga was resurrected under a full moon, and when the gang entered into the Queen's Cup Challenge, a full moon with autumn leaves and flowers (following the gang's maxim to fight with beauty and grace, like flower petals fluttering in the wind) were pictured rising over the Tokyo skyline.
- A running gag in the series focuses on his relationship with Juubei. The two are so close that other characters often assume they are a couple - a theory that Rando Ayamine has expressed support for in his freetalks.
- However, Kazuki is also hinted at having romantic relationship (albeit one-sided maybe) with several other characters, including Saizou Toufuuin (the scene where he rips out his heart and says 'Farewell, beloved Prince of Fear!' is eerily romantic), Toshiki Uryuu (who shares Juubei's admiration to Kazuki, and once even hinted that Kazuki to him was like 'a princess from the stars, great upon the earth' during their Fuuga days), Ren Radou (she once kissed him, and frequently blushes in his presence) and Yohan (he once remarked of when Kazuki escaped from the fires that destroyed the Omote Fuuchouin, it was his 'beautiful back' that made Youhan wait for Kazuki to 'play the melody of vengeance' for him).
- Kazuki is the first character other than Ban and Ginji to appear on the spine of the manga volumes (in Book 30). He also appears on the book's cover, in the traditional red Fuuchouin battle outfit, together with the rest of the reincarnated Fuuga. Later, he would become the third character (other than Ban and Ginji) to appear on the spine twice, with his second appearance in volume 36.
- Interestingly, Kazuki shares some similarities with Kira Yamato, another character voiced by Soichiro.
- Both characters were revived by a girl after they had suffered serious injuries. (Kazuki was healed by Kaoru Haruki during the Kiryuudo Arc and Kira was taken care of by Lacus Clyne after his fight against Athrun Zala. Coincidentally, both girls are voiced by Tanaka Rie.)
- Both have showed frighteningly fierce battle potential when provoked, but were gentle and kind most of the time.
- Both characters have comrades who were voiced by Koyasu Takehito (Juubei in GB and Mu La Flaga in Gundam Seed).
- Both characters had a showdown with their best friend(s) before making up (Kira vs. Athrun in GS and Kazuki vs. Juubei, Toshiki, and Saizou in GB).
- Kazuki came 4th in the results of a popularity poll that appeared in volume 14 of the manga with 1775 votes.
- In the fourth ending sequence of the anime (song used: Changin' by NONA REEVES featuring YOU THE ROCK), Kazuki's picture was put at the back of the women's portraits. Later on, in the paper doll dancing portion of the same ending sequence, his doll was dancing together with the women's. This is part of the running gag that he's often mistaken for a woman.
- Kazuki's feminine features are so convincing that many characters first assume he's a woman at first glance. In one episode of the anime, while searching for Ginji's room, Kazuki received requests for assistance from the hosptial's patients who thought he was a nurse. Kazuki's good hearted nature had him tending to them until the head nurse caught him...and assumed he was a trainee not in uniform. The next time he's seen in the episode, he's now in a nurse's outfit, having difficulty with heels.
- In a postcard illustration accompanying the special edition of vol. 37, he's shown to have shorter hair, and wear glasses. In the finale, he's also depicted with shorter hair and glasses.
| GetBackers |
| Story arcs • Episode List |
| Characters |
|---|
| GetBackers: Ginji Amano + Ban Mido |
| Volt Kings: Kazuki Fuuchouin* | Shido Fuyuki | MakubeX | Masaki Kurusu |
| Transporters: Kurodou Akabane (Dr Jackal) | Himiko Kudo |
| Infinity Fortress Characters: Juubei Kakei* | Haruki Emishi | Sakura Kakei* | Kyoji Kagami | Toshiki Uryuu* |
| Crew of the Honky Tonk: Hevn | Paul Wan | Natsumi Mizuki |
| Other Characters: Maria Noches | Saizou Toufuuin* | Madoka Otowa | Miroku family |
| *Fuuga member - italics: manga only character |
| Other Topics |
| Infinity (Limitless) Fortress - Fuuga (Elegance) |
