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Jun. 30th, 2020 07:17 amHISTORY
Shishiwakamaru is a professional martial artist and talented celebrity samurai, presumably of a high-class samurai family, given his clothes, gentlemanly airs and clearly well trained swordsmanship. He competes in tournaments around the demon realm in attempts to bolster his reputation as a fighter, and seeks out fame above all. His intention is to beat the strongest, most famous fighters, such as infamous masters Toguro and Genkai, in order to prove his superiority in battle, rather than merely climbing to the top in his own right the way they did. Of course, winning tournaments comes with more reward than only fame, but Shishi seems to care only for exposure and applause from his adoring fan club. He’s already achieved some amount of celebrity, clearly, but it seems to be more for his good looks and charm than for his fighting, so he seeks to solidify his reputation as a formidable fighter.He spent the times before the Dark Tournament, where we were first introduced to him, training and traveling with his tournament group. His only apparent ally is the team’s co-captain, Suzuki. Shishiwakamaru and Suzuki together worked in tandem as the intelligent puppet-masters behind their team’s disguises and shticks, creating an elaborate strategy to win the tournament. They calculated every prediction of all their possible opponents’ potential attacks, and hired the type of characters on their team they could manipulate like pawns in battle (weaker and dimwitted, arrogant fighters who were easily influenced by the charismatic pair). Suzuki divvied out powerful enchanted weapons, items he’d crafted himself to specifically suit their wielders, in order to essentially use props to cut corners to get to the top, rather than on the rest of their team members’ own merit. It was a precise plot masterminded by the two conspirators, who were noted by the series’ protagonists as the only strong members of the five-person team. Shishiwakamaru and Suzuki showed absolutely no sign of remorse as their teammates died off; Shishiwakamaru even killed one of them himself to prevent their secret plot and Suzuki’s identity as the creator of their enchanted items from being revealed.
Their team, Team Uraotogi, consisted of fighters whose personas were all based around disturbing subversions of classical Japanese folk figures (with the exception of Suzuki, who sought to create his own new legend). One of their teammates (the one Shishi later kills) claims that they were all demonic apparitions borne from the confused or aggravated thoughts that over time caused people to stop caring about these fairytale characters, the results of all the doubts and nagging questions of the morals at the cores of these fables. He claims that he and Shishiwakamaru and their team are all manifestations of the collective evil thoughts toward fairytales and were powered by the vengeance they sought on others for discarding the relevance of their characters’ tales; the teammate claims he disagrees with Shishi’s vengeful philosophy, and believes their roles end when the morals of their stories are presented, whereas Shishi and the others seek to extend their own relevance beyond the fairytales. This entire story is suspect and vague at best, untrue and a weak front at worst, as the same teammate is then immediately shown to be a liar and mocks Kurama for believing this story at all. When he is killed by Shishiwakamaru, it’s revealed the man was just a low-level beast demon in one of Suzuki’s convincing disguises, thereby disproving his own claims. So while it’s a detail worth mentioning, it’s more likely this tale is just in line with the fairytale shtick their team pulled for the Dark Tournament, and Shishiwakamaru is not an apparition borne from the distracted thoughts of people hearing Ushiwakamaru’s fairytale, but in fact is a normal youkai as any other.
However, unlike his other disguised teammates, only Shishiwakamaru implies that he may in fact be the character whom he’s based on. There are so many loose ends in this regard, but the potential connections in identity between the two characters are worth noting. Ushiwakamaru is known in legend for his grace, agility and swordsmanship, as well as his physical beauty, often referred to as the “first bishounen” by folklore historians, which goes in line with Shishiwakamaru’s pretty-boy reception amongst his ardent fan base. When he reveals his katana for the first time in battle, he brags that “even the famous Benkei had been intimidated by this sword.” Benkei was the righthand man of Minamoto no Yoshitsune in real life and in legend, and the most famous depiction of Yoshitsune as a young Ushiwakamaru is that of his introductory battle with Benkei on Gojo bridge. In this classic theatrical battle, Ushiwakamaru is almost always seen playing a flute while covering himself with a large, translucent cloth like a veil (a hagoromo), which is in fact one of Shishiwakamaru’s primary weapons; the core of Shishiwakamaru’s sword is also an enchanted flute, another reference to this famous scene. Like the other fighters’ items on their team, though, both weapons were crafted by Suzuki to suit the samurai personally, so these could have been made just to match the team’s fairytale theme. If we are to entertain the idea that Shishiwakamaru may indeed have been the one to fight Benkei famously back in the 1170s, and we’re to accept that as implication that he is himself Ushiwakamaru, perhaps when Ushiwakamaru trained under a powerful tengu on Mount Kurama in the legends, it may be that youkai powers could have been passed onto him from the tengu, as it’s said the source of Ushiwakamaru’s fabled superhuman speed and agile jumping ability were thanks only to his training with the tengu. Or perhaps it’s the case that in unspoken Yu Yu Hakusho lore, Ushiwakamaru was simply naturally a tengu himself, maybe misremembered in legend as human over hundreds of years, seeing as tengu are youkai who are known for being conceited, clever and motivated to cause disorder in the world, and these archetypical tengu traits line up with Shishiwakamaru’s personality very well (this is my personal theory as to his species, at least). In either assumption of his original identity being the real Ushiwakamaru from legends, it could be he may have renamed himself Shishiwakamaru (the name being a pun, warping the meaning of the original name into “deathly young man,” a sort of tongue-in-cheek “death becomes him” quip, essentially) out of bitterness as his relevance and legacy began to pale over the span of hundreds of years, which may be why he is so motivated toward achieving new fame now. This is all totally personal speculation, as there’s not any other outright reference to his age or true identity apart from that comment about having fought Benkei, which may or may not have been a true statement, considering Shishiwakamaru is something of a braggart, and may have just been going for a dramatic flair with their team’s theme. As far as it’s been established, Shishi’s probably not Yoshitsune himself, but there’s no clear explanation about why he keeps this allusion as an illusion, given then in that case that “Shishiwakamaru” must be an assumed name for the sake of the role, or what, if any, his “true” identity might be — maybe some samurai dude out there really just named his son “deathly young man,” legit, separate from any reference to the legend, and Shishi just went with it all his life. Who knows. I will avoid too much speculation in-game about his mystifying background in regards to direct relation with Ushiwakamaru himself, although I clearly have a few theories. I’ll lean on the imagery of this legendary character as it’s integral to Shishiwakamaru’s persona, but I’ll keep my own more substantial speculations on the matter subtle and succinct in-game.
All that said for the mysterious nature of Team Uraotogi and the questionable backgrounds of its members: despite their other team members’ relative weakness, Team Uraotogi made it to the semifinals of a long and arduous competition, and their team was in the Top 4 of the Dark Tournament. Quite an accomplishment, as a testament to the depth of their facade, as we saw arguably more powerful teams die off long before theirs. Shishiwakamaru stood in as team captain before Suzuki revealed his own identity in the final battle. Shishi used a pair of labeled dice to decide the fighters from each team at random for each battle round, showing confidence in their own capabilities by showing indifference in their opponents.
Post-Dark Tournament, Shishi and Suzuki are lucky enough to later be deemed worthy to train under Genkai, along with a few other impressive youkai from the tournament. Kurama assembles them as a group of high-class fighters as part of a larger political plot, as the kingdoms in Makai began to shift. Shishi’s official power class improves by leaps and bounds, rising to nearly the highest class after extensive, intensive training under Genkai and Kurama. When considering potential new kings for Makai, Kurama and Suzuki and the others all unanimously vote for Yusuke — but Shishi remained neutral, writing “no comment” (which Suzuki then scratched out, and wrote Yusuke’s name over it with a grin). Shishi does not do poorly in the ensuing Makai Tournament, where he fights as an individual rather than in a group as before, but he does not get nearly as far as he did as a team with Suzuki in the first tournament. It’s stated that, post-end of series, Shishiwakamaru, Suzuki and the same group of friends will continue to train under Genkai indefinitely, and travel around participating in more martial arts tournaments professionally.
PERSONALITY
Shishiwakamaru’s a narcissist. Pointblank. He’s very invested in his image, both his public image and physical image, and considers himself of a higher caliber than most around him, condescending even to those more powerful than himself. He values fame and reputation above all, finding it the best motivator in battle, and seeks to become a big star and bolster his current fan base by participating in esteemed fighting tournaments. He seeks celebrity status, and relishes in the endless enthusiasm of his personal fan club. He’s shown to be something of a womanizer, treating men quite more harshly than women as well, but it’s implied he’s not deeply emotional much at all with his romantic/sexual partners, judging by his general demeanor, smug treatment of his fangirls, and his final pass at Genkai after their battle (“maybe if things were different and you were fifty years younger, I could have fallen for you… we could have been together, just once”). Shishi admired Genkai’s neutral mentality on justice, when she explained that she’s not a freedom fighter of any kind, but calls her own shots on who she’s got it out for, and it just so happens that a lot of villains end up amongst the people she doesn’t like, which seemed to strike a funny chord with Shishi romantically. But as an old woman, Shishiwakamaru has no interest in her sexually, and his vanity takes priority. Physical appearance is important to him, as shown when he repeatedly insults Kuwabara’s “goofed-up face.” He takes obvious pleasure in taunting and teasing people whom he finds ugly, inferior and/or stupid (in Kuwabara’s case, all of the above lol), and shows he has a quick and funny wit when he wants to cut someone with his words instead of his sword.His only confirmed friend, Suzuki, is even more of a narcissist than Shishi is! Suzuki demanded to be called “the Beautiful Suzuki” in their first tournament, oversold even his strongest move called the Rainbow Cyclone
He is, in fact, though, a talented warrior, and he holds himself as such, so his arrogance is not necessarily unwarranted. He’s a hard worker when he wants to be, although willing to take shortcuts and cheat the system if it’d benefit him more. He trained in extreme conditions for extended periods of time as a small group before the Makai Tournament, bumping up his demon power ranking by multiple class levels, nearly to the highest class, which is no small accomplishment. He tends to keep a cool, airy effect about him, maintaining composure as he pleases. The way he carries himself and speaks, he’s clearly from a well-to-do background. His baseline apathy is masked by his charm, and he pursues only what suits him. He disdains pacifists and those who choose to fight chasing ideals of justice or some righteous greater good; he views violence as the purest force because it is fueled by evil, and highly values the self-serving neutrality in that pursuit. Self-serving neutrality is kinda his thing.
Despite his charming and gentlemanly airs, Shishiwakamaru has some deeper darkness in his soul. His sword, designed by Suzuki, adjusts itself to its owner’s personality, activating once his life is in danger. In Shishiwakamaru’s case, the sword is charged with an explosion of his demon energy that takes form as a volley of uncontrollable, murderous skulls, devouring audience members at random. I take such forms as manifesting his inner bitterness, misanthropy, condescension, and vengefulness into a deadly attack. He admits the sword drains his youki from him as it’s so powerful, so I imagine it’s because it’s tapping into something very visceral inside him. Although he seems to prefer to maintain his calm, once threatened and riled up, his temper is quick to spark, and he loses his composure in his excitement or agitation, sometimes as a means to intimidate people with his natural form by bearing fangs and horns. But he still seems at all times to be self-aware and in control of his demeanor, even in his more hot-tempered or high-strung moments — it’s more that he chooses to let the façade down, rather than losing emotional control of his temperament.
Shishiwakamaru is an independent thinker, unafraid to speak his mind (a bit too much, maybe), but is also tactful and calculated. His whole team’s premise was an elaborate plot to manipulate their way to the top through disguises and careful calculation and prediction, with Shishi and Suzuki playing with their opponents as toys until they finally met a foe they felt was formidable enough to actually try their best with. He’s of high intelligence, but his cockiness can cloud his clarity. He determines his own sense of justice and purpose, and follows his own moral compass, whether it goes against the grain or not, even at others’ expense, so long as it benefits himself first and foremost. He can be amicable enough, and knows how to turn the charm and charisma on and off quite starkly, but regardless of whichever front he may put on, he’s always a bit glib and snarky, at no loss for condescending jokes. He’s a stylish person with a dramatic flair, a presumed taste for the finer things in life, and acts kinda like a demonic “cool, popular kid” from high school, more or less. Even if making close, genuine friends doesn’t come easily to him, he’s probably no stranger to parties and nightlife, and will most certainly have a blast dating around Lunatia. Time to put out the welcome mat at the foot of his bed…
ABILITIES
• Makokumeizanken — the Banshee Shriek, enchanted sword. Within the hilt there is a demonic flute that whistles an incantation to release evil, which resonates and is amplified by the shockwaves of an enchanted blade. o Shrill Call of the Reaper: Shishi spins the sword so fast above his head that it creates an ear-piercing, shrill frequency, putting an entire stadium of people in pain. Bonus skills as a potential majorette, whoo. o Chorus of 1,000 Skulls / Chorus of 10,000 Skulls (advanced technique): Shishi reveals a twisted, gory base within the hilt of the sword, a small wailing face in its tissues. From the mouth of this is emitted an insatiable swarm of deadly skull apparitions. This move takes so much energy (youki) from him that it is sometimes difficult for Shishiwakamaru to control the skulls, who violently eat people indiscriminately; whether Shishi sincerely can’t control the skulls or simply doesn’t care to is neither here nor there.• Shide no Hagoromo — Cape of No Return: enchanted inter-dimensional veil. The most archetypical image of the legendary Ushiwakamaru, Shishi wields the hagoromo as one of his primary weapons, linking the two samurai further, at least in image if not identity. The hagoromo can transport his opponents through the ether to fairly far-off locations, manipulating space and teleportation. Shishi claims he has little control over where the victims will end up being deposited, or whether or not they will be alive (Kuwabara was), but again, up for speculation whether he actually can’t control it or just doesn’t care.
• Cage of Hell: Shishi can channel his youki into a physical barrier. Anyone who crosses it without breaking it would presumably be killed, or close to. The cage works to his advantage as it drains the opponent of their energy while keeping them confined within range of his sword, with virtually no escape, unless they harness their own spirit power enough to break the wall (as Genkai did).
• Demon form transformation, in heightened emotional states. Excited, angry, etc.
• Imp transformation. Later in the series, Shishi tends to keep this form more often than he keeps his humanoid form, perhaps reserving his full-sized, handsomer form for appearances. It’s assumed this is his true form, so perhaps this is more comfortable when he’s just hanging out at home with friends. He employs this form in combat as well, fighting with a large needle of sorts, using his small size and ability to fly in this imp form to his advantage. In his battle at the Makai Tournament, he fought a demon with an impenetrable shell Shishi’s sword could not slice, so after being exhausted by his attempts in his full-size form, the demon ate Shishi; but while inside the demon’s belly, Shishi transformed and wrecked havoc as an imp, causing his opponent to explode, flying out victorious and quite smitten with himself. He can switch forms at will, but switching to his imp form is clearly linked to his comfort, as he’s often seen perched on Suzuki’s shoulder casually. This imp form is another indicator to me that Shishi’s specific type of youkai may be tengu, as there are traditionally two types of tengu — birdlike forms and larger humanoid forms — so Shishi could be the mangaka’s answer to both.
• Supernatural agility and speed. Supernatural strength. Excellent evasive tactics and quick-thinking battle strategies. Can read opponents’ moves well.
