Tokiya
Mikagami
I'm going to have
a difficult time not drooling on the monitor...^^;;;. After all, it' s
Tokiya we're talking about. Isn't he soooooo bishounen? So before I get
major dehydration from all that drool, allow me to talk about Hokage Team's
reluctant ninja.
I don't know
what the word Tokiya means, but Mikagami stands for "Water Mirror." (Mizu
no Kagami) Tokiya is Recca's sempai (upper class man). He is 17 years old
and is on the junior year of high school. He is touted to be the most intelligent
student in his class (and probably the handsomest one too ^^). Tokiya celebrates
his natal day on November 13 and his blood type is A (so you see why he
and Fuuko can't be a couple. The mere blood type isn't compatible...their
kid is going to have an ABO incompatibility, develop jaundice, kernicterus....yeah,
yeah, me and my excuses). He appears in volume 2 chapter 1 of the manga
and episode 2 of the anime.
Tokiya lived
with his sister, Mifuyu (means beautiful winter), who bore an uncanny resemblance
to Yanagi. They were left orphaned when their parents died in a car accident.
Mifuyu immediately got a job after studying so she could raise Tokiya and
send him to college. Life was hard but according to Tokiya, they were happy
whether they were seeking refuge in their relative's place or in the kindergarten.
They lived together in an old apartment where his nee-san hugged him to
sleep (Awww.aint that sweet ^.^? No wonder he loved her very much...).
When he was about 10 years old, he saw his sister murdered before his very
eyes by Mori Kouran's men. They had wanted the ensui (water of hell) and
Mifuyu dies trying to protect the madougu and her younger brother. Since
then, Tokiya has lived for revenge, trying to track down the murderers
of his sister.
It is at this
point that Tokiya meets Recca. He witnessed the battle between Recca and
Fuuko and seeing the elemental weapons, suspected that they had something
to do with his sister's assassins. This belief was further aggravated by
the manipulation of Kage Houshi. Tokiya then challenges Recca to a duel.
He then notices Yanagi and her immediate resemblance to his deceased sibling.
This made him want to protect Yanagi too.
Recca and Tokiya
faced each other twice. In the first bout, Tokiya took Recca by storm,
levelling him with his prowess with the ensui. However, Recca overcame
him in a second bout held dramatically in a Hall of Mirrors (which seems
to be a very popular spot for confrontation in both animation of not ^_^).
It was upon this battle where Tokiya told Recca to do a good job of protecting
Yanagi, or else he would cut the latter into half.
Tokiya didn't join
the Hokage Team voluntarily. He was rather reluctant, and it can be seen
he's not the warmest of characters *_*...must be the water...and ice if
you please. He has Kurama's good looks and Hiei's cynical attitude. What
a killer combination ^_^! Anyway, he did join due to the persistence of
Kage Houshi. He was apparently peeved when Yanagi got kidnapped by Mokouren
and Kaoru, so he went to the mansion to help Recca and company. It was
there he faced the equally-skilled Kaoru in a classic battle leading to
a draw and mutual respect between the two combatants. He also joins the
Hokage Team in the Urabutousatsoujin to find the murderers of his sister,
and to save Yanagi from a cruel fate in the hands of Mori Kouran. He feels
Recca isn't doing his job too well *_* serving his hime.
In the Urabutousatsoujin,
Tokiya faced Daikoku of the Kuu Team, Mokouren (Uurha Maboroshi), Miki
and Neon (Uruha Oto)- here he faces the sisters as a team with Recca,
and Kai (Uruha Kuranei). Tokiya (known as Dylan in the Philippine dub)
studied under the tutelage of Meguri Kyoza who taught him the Kyomon Hen.
It is from this sensei where Tokiya learned everything there was, and where
he mastered the ensui. Meguri Kyoza, however appears to be a man of two
faces. In the manga, he trains Kai to kill Tokiya. In the anime, it was
shown that Kai was the original heir to the Kyomon Hen but Tokiya's mastery
made the former second rate and made him want to try and outdo Tokiya.
During the Urabutousatsoujin, during his dying moments, Kai told Tokiya
that the latter indeed deserved to be heir to the Kyomon Hen. Kai also
says that it was Meguri Kyoza who had orderd the killing of Mifuyu. This
was so because Meguri wanted to bring out the anger in Tokiya. It was this
anger that fueled him, making him the master of his trade. Tokiya thus
lost all motivation to demolish Kai (as Kai wasn't his sister's murderer)
thus causing him to lose this battle. Out of guilt perhaps, Kai commits
suicide anyway by jumping over the cliff.
The elemental weapon
Tokiya wields is the ensui (dark waters). It is in the form of a sword
handle, and fed with water, the element becomes its blade. The ensui attacks
in many ways. Mizu Kugutsu, the water produces a false image (illusion
I think) so that Tokiya can come from elsewhare and attack. He frequently
uses this and once used it to an unsuspecting Kaoru in the battle in Kurei's
mansion. A second attack is the Absolute Zero where the ensui freezes objects
to...you guessed it, absolute zero. He used this in the Urabutousatsoujin
to freeze Mokouren's tree branches. A third method is called the Tsurara
Mai. Tokiya sticks his ensui to the ground and freezes it. Pillars of ice
emerge from the ground and attacks the enemy. He used this in an attempt
to finish Neon in the Urabutousatsoujin. A fourth attack is the Snake of
Water. This forms water bubbles from the four corners of the world which
unite into a snake-like wave that charges the opposition.
Tokiya isn't exactly
the most loved of the Hokages. He's a little bit aloof and detached from
them. He considers himself the leader of the group (I suppose he assumes
this, being the oldest and the most skilled madugou-user). He is overtly
critical of his teammates, in particular Domon. He also gets into a fight
with Recca once too often. The only person I think he doesn't totally pick
on is Fuuko (natch, Tokiya knows how to treat a lady ^_^). The one he apparently
gets along well with is Kagero. They are often seen discussing the madugous,
group strategies and scouting the opponents. He shows a little respect
for Recca though, during their match against Neon and Miki. This is obviously
because
if they remain pigheaded, they're never going to win the round. Tokiya
is in some ways, similar to Fuuko. He is a thinking fighter, not one who
merely throws caution to the wind and gets on with it. He is a strategist...and
there are times, he can be a little insensitive. I gather he gets it from
being bitter about life (He got traumatized at a young age *_*). Now that
his sister's murder is clear to him, I wonder if he'll have a brighter
outlook in life? Well, it's up to the manga I suppose. The anime isn't
telling.
There are a number
of advocates of a Fuuko-Tokiya pairing out there, since the two are a little
bit alike in some qualities: i.e., they are both intelligent, physically
gifted, confident of their abilities and extremely talented. The problem
is....well, I dunno about you, but I'm afraid they're not going to get
along quite well. Why? Pride. Like, one may not be so willing to forgive
the other, give in to the others needs...etcetera. Of course I could be
wrong, as no one really has an idea of what Tokiya would be like as a boyfriend
(except maybe Nobuyuki-sensei). Any pro or anti Tokiya/Fuuko out there?
Voice out your sentiments to moi!
And to see my view of this duo, click here!
To return to Fuuko's shrine, click here!
TOKIYA TIDBITS:
1. In one of
the manga volumes (prior to his Miki/Neon match), Tokiya met Yanagi in
the forest and tried to cut her hair so she would more like his nee-chan.
2. Mifuyu's
hair is much shorter in the manga (only down to the shoulders).
3. Tokiya, wears
glasses!
4. He's lousy
at Playstation.
5. His hair
hasn't been cut since the day his nee-chan died.
6. Other than
his tanktop, his uniform and his formal suits, he owns flannel shirts and
turtlenecks and sugoi tees!
7. He also weaks
a cross necklace and a bracelet.
8. He thinks
of Yanagi as an "elegant angel."
9. He and Yanagi
actually had *date* of sorts in volume 2 when they rode the roller coaster
and went into The House of Monsters (where she fainted) and he later gave
her an ice cream. |