Kurohime

MANGA REVIEW:

Kurohime

Summary of Released Chapters

A young boy, Zero, is saved by a mysterious gunslinger who uses magical bullets. Later revealed to be Kurohime, she is the greatest magician in the world; however, she disappears shortly after saving him. Having fallen in love with her, he trains to become a gunslinger and ten years later, his search comes to an end, and both of them team up as fugitives running away from an angry warlord wanting to take his revenge on Kurohime for what she did to him 10 years ago. He finds that she has now been cursed by the gods, and now walks the Earth as a child by the name of Himeko. Her magic powers were greatly hindered as a consequence. The only way to revert the curse is for Kurohime to fall in love with somebody, a task that Kurohime is incapable of doing. However, experiencing crushes or infatuation causes the spell to be broken momentarily, allowing for the couple to get out of bad situations.

Later in the manga, Kurohime realizes at last that she is in love with Zero. With Kurohime now being able to love, the curse is finally broken, but the gods sent the God of Death together with the goddess of benevolence, Shirohime, to defeat and kill Kurohime because of her crime of having killed a minor god. At the God of Death's command, Shirohime seals Kurohime back into her child form again, using a spell that can never be broken, and the God of Death starts trying to kill Kurohime and Zero. During this battle, Kurohime's past is revealed through a flashback. It is revealed that Kurohime is only half of herself as she was split into 2 when she challenged the gods years ago. This is due to the fact that the world was split apart with warring, as everyone was trying to prove themselves worthy of the promise of divinity given to the strongest human in the world. 10 years ago, Kurohime decided to end all the wars by pretending to be interested in becoming a god, but her real intent was to be able to ascend into heaven and start killing the gods instead.

Because Kurohime operates on a mentality of "ends justify the means," she was willing to sacrifice as many lives in order to end the war, such that the rest of the world and humanity might have absolute peace. Therefore, when the gods were deciding what to do with her, they decided to cut her into half and cleave her into "love" and "hate" which became Shirohime and Kurohime respectively. Shirohime then became a goddess, and in order to protect her other half (or, as this half would have tremendous power but only negative emotions such as hate, to protect the rest of the world from her,) she sealed her with the curse that could only be broken with love, and sent her down to earth in her child form. During the climatic battle between the God of Death and Kurohime, Shirohime realizes that she has lost sight of the point of her existence, which only Kurohime can now fulfil, so she willing sacrifices herself to save Zero and Kurohime. With the death of her goddess counterpart, Kurohime regains her full power and defeats the God of Death. However, the latter had summoned the 'River of the Dead' in a last-ditch effort to defeat Kurohime. Anyone living being caught in the river will be dissolved. The only way across is to use the "Boatman of the River"'s boat, but it can only carry one person.

Zero sacrifices his life to push the boat, with the unconscious Kurohime inside, across the river. Witnessing Zero's death causes Kurohime to develop a trauma which seals her power, turning her back into Himeko, but this time with the appearance of a early to mid teen. However, she is capable of reverting back to her adult form and power, but every time she does, she loses some of her memories of Zero.

In a cruel twist, the gods later resurrect Zero as the new God of Death, to try and kill Kurohime. Having been stripped of his free will, Zero battles Kurohime, who cannot bring herself to fight the man she loves. As a consequence, Kurohime loses most of her memories of Zero. The released memories free Zero's mind, right before he completely becomes the new God of Death. However, Zero now possesses a significant amount of darkness in his heart. It is revealed that this is his "true self."

To understand his darkness and past, Kurohime travels 10 years into the past, before the war against the gods, and begins to witness what happened to Zero and his little brother Rei.

Characters

Zero - A boy saved by Kurohime in his childhood. Over ten years, he trained and became a gunslinger. He uses four guns and is known for his incredible speed. He is very loyal to Kurohime, and although he finds her difficult to handle as a child, he is still very much in love with her. Kurohime often berates him for his naivety and open kindness, but it is also what she fell in love with. His personal morals and sense of justice stems from his past: after witnessing Kurohime's power when she saved him, he vowed only to use his guns to protect and save the innocent. In order not to kill anyone, he aims mostly to disarm his aggressors with his shots. Throughout the story, he suffers great - and almost fatal - physical damage in order to save his beloved Kurohime, despite her often insensitive and ungrateful behavior.

His love for Kurohime was so strong that he willingly sacrificed his own life to save her from the River of Death. Zero's soul is taken to the underworld by Yashahime and there he is resurrected as the new God of Death. Later in the manga, "Dark Zero" confronts Kurohime and attacks her, even though she isn't willing to fight him. After taking back his signature blue scarf from Kurohime, he tears out most of the petals that comprise her soul lotus, leaving one behind. This single lotus petal contains the memories of the love Kurohime has for Zero, and the pain of losing him. This act causes Zero to remember his true memories and he transforms into his full Death God form. It is revealed that Zero holds much darkness in his heart, as the "Good Zero" is told to be just "an image created by an idealistic youth". Zero spares Kurohime's life and, despite her pleas, leaves with Yashahime.

One of his more prominent attacks is "Lightning Draw," which enables him to fire multiple shots with blinding speed and deadly accuracy. He is shown to be able to fire off at least two dozen consecutive shots with blinding reload speeds, and break off a cliff with his shots.

Kurohime - A magician who fights using magical bullets. Ten years ago, she saves Zero, influencing his decision to become a gunslinger. She is very self-centered, and is said to not be able to genuinely love. As a result, she defied the gods and was cursed to walk the world as a child. She can only revert to her adult form when she falls in love. The adult Kurohime bears a strong resemblance to the goddess that cursed her, Shirohime; it is later revealed that this is the case because Shirohime is actually one half of Kurohime's soul, containing her memories and positive emotions, while Kurohime as she is presently is merely the incarnation of all of Kurohime's negative emotions.

Her chief weapon is her witch-gun, Senryuu (lit., Tornado Dragon). Aside from being able to fire witch-bullets, Senryu can fire normal bullets with cannon-like force. In the past, she also carries the Houryuu, the world's strongest witch-gun, that is capable of summoning dragons at any time because of the magic power within it; she obtained the gun specifically to fight in the heavens, where there is no magic power to use. In the second arc, Kurohime receives the Yamato-Dachi from Yamatohime after defeating Gandhara. The sword fuses with Senryu, allowing it to switch between sword (Yamato Senryuto) and gun (Yamato Senryuho) forms.

Himeko- Kurohime's form as a child, she differs greatly from her adult self; Himeko is hyperactive and acts like a real child, often having tantrums and falling asleep for naps, while her adult form is more controlled and calm. Himeko is unable to perform magic well while as a child, but still knows a great deal about it. Despite her bratty behavior, Himeko likes Zero, and often gets upset when he shows favor to other people, especially other girls. Himeko's name is composed of the Japanese words "Hime" (princess) and "ko" (child), so her name translates as "Princess Child" or "Child Princess", depending on the sentence's context. As the story progresses, Himeko's physique becomes closer to that of Kurohime's, and in the process, regains more of her powers, although they are still incomparable to those of Kurohime's.

Onimaru - A heavyset gunslinger in pursuit of Kurohime. He was once her most loyal soldier and his back bears a large tattoo of the kanji for "dog", with the kanji for "Kurohime" branded near it. Feeling betrayed by the selfish witch, he swore revenge on her, and intends to take it now that she has been stripped of her magical powers. Ironically enough, he is still attracted to her.

In a bid to take down Kurohime, the leader of the "Death Angel" squad, Sword, seduces Onimaru and compels him to kiss her feet, and he nearly became a hideously grotesque man-snake. However, his sheer willpower prevents the transformation from fully occurring, and he becomes a mute miniature lizard; his personality and intelligence also survive this change. He then tags along with Himeko and Asura in their quest to Yamato.

Barahime- A witch who used to steal the lives of men in order to maintain her youth. She was defeated by Kurohime before the start of the series, and subsequently lost her youth. Barahime then went on to possess Yuuka, a young girl. Her possession was incomplete, only allowing her to take complete control at night, but she was able to use Yuuka's beauty to once again kill men and keep her youthful appearance. Once again defeated by Kurohime, she was separated from Yuuka, and cursed to burn. The flame was extinguished by Sword, leader of the Death Angel Squad, who invited her to join the Kurohime Punishment Squad. She once again possessed Yuuka, this time completely, and with the rest of the squad was sent back in time with Kurohime after their battle in Edo city. Kurohime killed Barahime, freeing Yuuka and in return she is helping kurohime.

Asura - A beautiful looking woman. The people of that land call her and her kind, demons. She is extremely powerful, possessing incredible magical powers, whose destructive properties rivals a god. She is first introduced as a mysterious character who plays a subtle hand in aiding Kurohime and Zero defeat a witch. She is next seen fighting a Mountain God and is severely wounded while protecting Zero and Kurohime. Shortly after being tended to by Zero, they are attacked again by the Mountain God, and Kurohime and Asura team up together to destroy their enemy.

She is attuned to the element of fire, and much of her magic revolves around flames. She also has a demonic form that allows her to use her powers more efficiently. She was initially reluctant in having anything to do with Zero and Kurohime, but after being saved by Zero and witnessing the power of a vengeful Kurohime, she has a change of heart, and tells Kurohime about her master who seems intent on helping Kurohime regain her full power.

In the second arc, she reveals that her master is Yamatohime, who will resurrect Zero if Himeko can find the Four Great Spirit Kings. After the fight with Saiyuki and then Yashahime, she expresses her belief that humans and gods are both enemies of the spirits. She also has a firm resolve to protect Kurohime so as to make sure to free Yamatohime, shown by her continually stopping Ji from telling Himeko about Yashahime having taken Zero. She cries when Ji tells her that he and Ba will be waiting for both her and Himeko to come back alive. She later helps in the next several battles with the gods, until Kurohime and the gang reach Big Edo city on Yamato. There, they are ambushed by the Kurohime Punishment Squad, with Asura facing a revived Barahime.

Eventually, Asura and the others outmatch their witch-gunslinger opponents, so Barahime and the others signal their sniper aboard Kairyu, who fires giant crocodile bullets at the protagonists. While Kurohime and Yukiotoko/Yukionna manage to dodge the initial sniper shots, Asura was trying to get a little girl who had stumbled onto the battlefield to safety, and was snapped by the jaws of the witch beast. As she reverts back to her normal form after the hit, it is very possible that it was a fatal blow.

Sword- The leader of the Death Angel Squad (Shinigami Tenshidan) sent after Kurohime and Zero in the fourth volume. She and her comrades (Axe, Lance, Mace, Hammer, and Dagger) are sent to reap a group of vengeful souls from a ghost wagon who were revived courtesy of Kurohime. Sword seems to have a personal vendetta against Kurohime, leading her and her fellow death angels in an attempt to kill her by turning members of the Onimaru Gang into large demonic snakes.

Later, they aid Darkray, the God of Death, in the battle with Kurohime by transforming into their namesake weapons for Darkray's use. Kurohime shoots them with bullets that turn them into copies of her, and Darkray simplifies things by killing them all in an attempt to get the real Kurohime. The mortally injured angels give their power to Sword so that she will live.

Sword (and former enemies of Kurohime) reappear in the second arc as part of the Kurohime Punishment Squad. She displays several new abilities, notably the ability to manipulate blood and suck her victim's veins dry of it, and a new outfit that makes her appear more human (compared to her initial appearance). She and her comrades kidnap Kairyu and use it to assault Kurohime and her compatriots at Big Edo City.

The Kurohime Punishment Squad follows Kurohime ten years into the past, and Sword fights against Kurohime in Lion Castle. There she reveals that her new form and abilities are the result of becoming a Vampire-Werewolf-Angel hybrid, the result of a long and painful transformation process. Her eyepatch acts as a seal to lock away her 'true form', and when she removes it she becomes a monstrous vampiric werewolf but also loses all control of her actions. Kurohime tricked Sword into transforming back by transforming herself into Darkray.

Darkray- The former God of Death. He fought Kurohime when she first challenged the gods. Using the soul of an infant murdered by an attack on Kurohime as a shield, he defeated her with Sword, slicing her in half. He was also the one who suggested splitting Kurohime into two beings: one comprised of pure hate, the other, of love and compassion. This resulted in the birth of Shirohime (White Princess), the Goddess of Mercy. He later appeares in the fourth volume, not long after Kurohime killed the mountain god Moai. He orders Shirohime to seal Kurohime's powers so that he and his death angels could kill her.

During the battle with Himeko and Zero, he kills Shirohime when she, after some goading by Onimaru, broke the curse and gave Kurohime her powers back. He managed to extract Zero's soul and used it as a shield, much like the fight ten years prior, to force Kurohime to leave herself open. Eventually, with Zero's aid, Kurohime killed Darkray, blowing his head to pieces with one last shot. His soul is seen later when Yashahime returns to the land of death. He begs her to revive him, but she finds him pathetic at this juncture and destroys his soul, vanquishing him for good.

Yashahime- The mother goddess and lover of Darkray. She swears to kill Kurohime to avenge the fallen God of Death, and first appears when Kurohime killed Gandhara on Yamato. She is very powerful, with a beauteous appearance masking a fearsome treelike form. Yashahime appears after Sayuki is turned into a human by Kurohime. Killing Saiyuki, she attempts to kill Kurohime. Even with Asura and Genbu's aid, Yashahime knocked Kurohime unconscious and then tried to kill Zero's soul. The soul, though encased in magic stone, managed to grasp Kurohime's hand, and withstood her blade. Enraged, she retreats to the underworld and smashes Darkray's soul, whom she now finds pathetic. She then realizes she is actually jealous of the love Zero and Kurohime share, and uses Darkray's skull to turn Zero into the god of death, so as to make Kurohime experience hell on earth forever. After Zero confronts Kurohime and the darkness in his heart emerges, Yashahime decides to take Zero as her new lover, smitten with the 'beauty of his darkness'. She has currently been seriously injured in her latest battle with Kurohime in the mountains and was taken back to the underworld by Dark Zero.

Yamatohime- The Phoenix Suzaku, Devil God, and Spirit Queen of Fire. She is Asura's master, and was imprisoned by the gods in the depths of a volcano, under constant watch by the Demon God Gandhara. After Kurohime arrives in Asura and slays Gandara, Yamatohime gives Kurohime a sword hardened by the sun; the Yamato-Dachi, and a lotus flower with seventeen petals, each representing a memory of Zero. A petal from the flower will fall every time Kurohime reverts to her true form. She assigns Asura with the task of guiding Himeko to the four spirit kings, whose power, when added to Yamato-Dachi, will be enough to free herself. Yamatohime says she will revive Zero if Himeko can successfully release her, then sends the group away as Tor, God of War, and Yashahime arrive in response to Gandhara's defeat.

Oka- Another member of the Kurohime Punishment Squad. She has abilities that are similar to Kurohime's, such as summoning dragons; additionally, she has amazing skill as a sniper. She's determined to defeat Kurohime and replace as "the Greatest Witch-Gunslinger in the World". She questions why Kurohime chooses not to fight Sword.

Ray- Zero's younger brother, a quiet young boy that keeps to himself.

Genbu- Spirit King of water.

Byakko- Spirit King of Earth.

Aika - Saika's lover and a magic gun user of the Kurohime punishment squad, she's nearly blind from birth but can concentrate her magic to sense her surroundings. She took his "Most sacred" thing in return for him cheating on her, but she loves him to the extent of risking her life for him.

Saika - A pretty boy seeking to make Kurohime his, he was defeated in chapter 3. He returns as part of the Kurohime punishment squad to get revenge since Aika, his lover found out he cheated on her and removed his "Most sacred" thing. He was transformed into a fake shinigami but rescued by Kurohime. He truly loves Aika, becoming her eyes in exchange for her love, since she will love him after his beauty fades.