#shikigami no shiro

[smbhax]

Shikigami no Shiro II (Dreamcast)

[despair-tea]

The two genders of shmup character: boygirl and girlgirl.

[archoneddzs15]

Sega Dreamcast - Shikigami no Shiro 2 Deluxe Edition (Castle Shikigami II)

Title: Shikigami no Shiro 2 Deluxe Edition / 式神の城 II

Developer/Publisher: Alfa System

Release date: 25 March 2004

Catalogue No.: T-47701M

Genre: Shooting Action

THANK YOU, ALFA SYSTEM!! Alfa System listened to their loyal Dreamcast fans and brought us Shikigami no Shiro 2 (The Demon God Castle 2 in English) on the 25th of March 2004. From what I can tell, the Dreamcast version seems to have all the same options as the Game Cube version (the first console version) including the gallery mode which is a great sign. There are loads of play modes plus a remixed soundtrack option, full speech for each character that can be switched on or off and a very convenient practice mode. Each player has a variety of two different attack styles to choose from which can be accessed by pushing left or right on the character select screen. A great point about Shikigami no Shiro II is that every one of the characters has their own unique way of shooting just like characters of a fighting game have their own unique fighting style. Personally, I haven't tried out every character much yet but it's going to be fun finding out.

I can imagine that a lot of you out there are asking "Is Shikigami no Shiro II better than Psyvariar 2?" Well, that's a tuff one to answer. They are both shooters played in a 2D style over 3D backgrounds, but I'd say Psyvariar 2 is more of a pattern shooter than Shikigami no Shiro II. I love both of them, but I'd have to say Shikigami no Shiro 2 would be my favorite due to the style of the characters appealing more to me. As far as game play goes, I'd say Psyvariar 2 will have you on the edge of your seats more.

The Dreamcast Limited Deluxe edition comes with a free CD Soundtrack (pictured above) of all the music and character voices featured in Shikigami no Shiro II plus a cool set of 4-character trading cards which you can see below.

But that's not the end of the goodies. Not only do you get the game, OST and trading cards presented in a beautiful card sleeve, but you can also get a very limited Shikigami no Shiro II NTT phone card for use in Japan. These were only available if you ordered the game directly from Sega Japan.

[wuucchoo]

puppies!!!

[k-martins]

I know it may sound stupid, but after today's episode, I imagine that Megumi's rabbits must be the most furious and radiant of the shikigamis.

As if they were little balls of hate and killer instinct, but who aren't taken seriously because of their size and cuteness. They must also be temperamental.

Megumi once said that the relationship he has with his shikigamis is based on trust, something like "they trust me with their lives and I trust them with my life", so when one of the rabbits dies, the others will probably go into mourning and They won't easily accept Megs' orders and he'll have to apologize or treat a billion rabbits. Did you catch the vision?

Imagine with me. Megumi needs to fight the shikigamis to tame them. He had to fight this kung fu rabbit.

Thinking that Megs' shikigami have distinct personalities is very interesting. Like Shiro and Kuro. Shiro (white) was obviously more extroverted and friendly than Kuro (black), who appears to be more obstinate and focused on the mission.

And Nue seems to be the most loyal to Megumi. He appears several times in the manga and anime, both for Megs' protection and those of others around his, and Megumi seems to be better in tune with him. (I so hope Nue isn't dead, his fight dynamic with Megs is wonderful T-T). I can't even imagine how much the poor bird suffered when Sukuna forced it to evolve ahead of time. Seriously, Gege drew him in such a way that he looks like he's in agony miserably.

Anyway, I'm just rambling. I would have liked to have seen Megs interact more with his shikigamis, as it is clear that he has enormous affection for all of them, unlike Sukuna who only used them as killing machines.

When Megumi returns to the manga I want to see him use the deer and the bull. It's going to be something impressive.

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

Hi, I was just rereading today, and I still think it's hilarious how Tsumiki handles Megumi’s divine dogs😭😂

Nanami, highly experienced grade one sorcerer: *appropriately assessing the risks of shikigami in a highly aggressive attack mode whose sorcerer is not coherent enough to order them down properly, trying to find a solution that prevents injury without necessitating the destruction of the shikigami*

Tsumiki, has a decade of being secretly smug that her brother’s shikigami love her best under her belt, ready to bank it all on the fact that her brother’s dogs are Good Boys: nanami would you move your ass

[toskarin]

speaking of Shikigami no Shiro, I'll never get over the fact that the XS Games localisation tried to pass it off as a sequel to Gunbird

[authorautumnbanks]

How To Tame A Sorcerer: Side Stories (18)

Main Story

Side Stories

"I am not pleased by these recent developments," Buyo meows as he stomps one paw on the floor. He wrinkles his nose. The problem with Megumi-kun's shadows is there is no sound to emphasize the slamming of his paws on the inky black floor. How is he to get his point across? The shikigami look at him and laugh. "This is no laughing matter! We must take control back before more of these... these eggs are created."

Why don't they see the writing on the wall? More shikigami is a terrible thing! Buyo eyes the vast darkness of Megumi-kun's shadows and huffs. Well, it is no wonder they cannot see the writing on the wall when there is no light in this place. Perhaps he should bring some kind of light with him? Brighten things up a little. Make it feel a little more alive.

"You don't like me?" Ryuren asks. His eyes widen and his jaw wobbles as though he is going to cry.

Buyo curls his lips back in slight disgust. There is something wrong about a dinosaur-like creature attempting to cry. A train wreck. A catastrophe waiting to happen. It is too much. It is disgusting. And frankly, he will have nightmares from the visual alone. "You are a strange, strange creature."

"Leave the baby alone," a rabbit says.

"He's upset because he can't talk," another rabbit says, falling onto its back and kicking its hind legs up with glee.

"And he's not a shikigami," the third rabbit points out. "Awwww, is the wittle Buyo jealous?"

"Stop laughing! This is serious! We are being overrun with these-these children! This is NOT a daycare."

Mahoraga sighs and crooks a finger at Ryuren. "Come here, little one." His palm is bigger than Ryuren's body. "If the cat continues to pester you, tell the priestess." Mahoraga pats the much smaller shikigami's head.

Everything comes to a stop. Tell the priestess? NO! They can't tell Kagome or she'll give him that stern look or worse, a talking to. No, he has to put a stop to this.

"This is between us, not Kagome," Buyo meows and then clears his throat. Damn hairballs are always clogging his throat. He should ask Megumi-kun to brush him later. "This does not require human intervention. This is between us demons and shikigami only!" Buyo lets out a mighty roar and then coughs. His body is overcome with tremors.

"Is he okay?" Ryuren asks.

"Buyo has not been keeping up with properly cleaning himself," the other cat shikigami, Shiro, says with a sniff. "At his age, he should know better, but he depends on Megumi-sama to do the work for him." Her small wings flutter behind her.

If he wasn't too busy hacking up a hairball, he'd give that kitten a piece of his mind. Buyo coughs one more time and then shakes his body. "Enough! I take care of myself plenty. Why—why, you shouldn't talk to me that way," he splutters. "I have been around longer than you and Megumi-kun and I have a special relationship that you could not comprehend!" How dare she try to turn the others against him! And after all he has done for her?

"Someone is jealous," the rabbits sing, wrapping their arms around one another and hopping in sync. "Jealous. Jealous. Oh, Buyo Jr. is jealous. The jealous of the jealous. That is Buyo Jrrrrrrr! A big ol' whiny nekomata." They clasp paws and go around in a circle, giggling. "Buyo Jr. is a big ol' whiney nekomata. Jealous. Jealous. Oh, he's soooo jealous."

"No one is jealous!" Buyo growls. "You, Shiro, are nothing more than a kitten. If it had not been for me, then you would have been gone. You can't even fly properly with those tiny wings."

Shiro blinks her large blue eyes. Her bottom lip pokes out.

Oh, meow's sake! Is she about to cry?

"Mahoraga-san!" Shiro cries. "Buyo is being so mean."

She cannot be serious! Those are such fake tears. No one would fall for that.

Mahoraga grunts and stands. Buyo tilts his head back and stands, too. He is not and will not be intimated by some overgrown wannabe divine general.

"That is enough," Mahoraga says, grabbing Buyo by his scuff. "Enough of your pity party. You are nothing more than a spoiled kitten."

Kitten! He is over three hundred centuries old! A kitten, he is not.

"How dare you! None of you have any self-preservation! You aren't even Megumi-kun's shikigami!"

"Why aren't you tamed?" Shiro asks.

Buyo rolls his eyes. What does that matter? Who cares? He takes a swipe at Mahoraga, but the general keeps him at arm's length. Hmph. Oversized general is lucky he is not in a murderous mood today or he would wipe his ass all over these shadows.

"Megumi has not tamed me. He must go through the ritual. None have tamed me."

"Oh." Shiro looks down at her feet and then up at Buyo. "It is nice of you to attend these meetings, still. Perhaps one day, Megumi-sama will tame you. You would be of great help against Sukuna."

Wait.

"Let me down!" Buyo meows. "I need to talk to the runt." When Mahoraga sets him down, Buyo flicks up his two tails and sticks his nose in the air. "Oi, you, dinosaur."

"It is Ryuren," the dinosaur shikigami corrects, ruffling his arm feathers.

"Ryuren," Buyo says, rolling his eyes. "You can talk to Megumi-kun, which is more than what Shiro can do."

"I can learn to talk." Shiro sniffs.

"Anyway," Buyo continues, because no one asked her for her opinion. "I need ya to give word to Megumi-kun about a plan."

"P-plan?" Ryuren's yellow eyes blink so much it gives Buyo whiplash. "What plan?"

Buyo holds up a paw. "First, stop blinking. Second, stop talking. Third, I am about to tell you the greatest plan of all plans."

"Oh, this should be good," a rabbit crackles.

"You think he'll hack up another fur ball?" another rabbit asks.

"I just hope the next shikigami is another canine," the wolf says. At that, Buyo snaps his fangs, but the wolf shikigami lays his head on his paws and yawns.

"Or something that is not a predator," the owl shikigami quips.

"You are a predator," the elephant says. "So, you just want another prey shikigami?"

"SILENCE!" Buyo bellows. "I am trying to explain the glorious plan. You keep it up and I will drop hints to Kagome-san that the next shikigami should be a mouse."

"That wasn't very nice," the third rabbit says. "What a meanie."

"A meanie poop," one rabbit says.

"A poopie kitty," another one crackles.

Buyo closes his eyes and paws at his face. Why must he be stuck with such idiots? "Can we focus for five seconds? Why is that so difficult?"

"You need to treat others how you want to be treated," the deer shikigami speaks up.

"No one invited you," Buyo mutters.

"I am just as a part of Megumi's shadows as you are."

"Anyway." Buyo rolls his eyes so hard they nearly pop out of his skull. "Back to the plan at hand. We have an immediate threat, and that is the abomination known as Sukuna. He must be stopped and then we will deal with the shikigami apocalypse."

"What do you propose?" Shiro asks, scooting closer to him. Buyo scoots away, but every time he moves away, this damn kitten moves even closer.

"Why are you touching me?"

"You're warm."

Buyo sighs. "As I was saying." He glares at Shiro before continuing. "We must put a stop to Sukuna. And Shiro, as much as it pains me to admit, has brought up a great point. You, Mahoraga, would give Megumi-kun an edge."

"Perhaps," Mahoraga says slowly, "but Megumi has not tamed me and Sukuna has already defeated me. He knows what to do now."

"He defeated you without a buff."

"Oh? You would share some of your energy with me?"

"I am a kind demon. Some would say the greatest."

"No one says that," one rabbit says.

"Some may call you a brat," another one says, elbowing the other rabbit in the side.

"The brattiest of all the brats! Buyo Jr. the bratty nekomata." The rabbits link arms again and kick their hind legs up. "The biggest brat of them all. Bratty, bratty, Buyo Jr."

"One day I will eat you," Buyo deadpans. He needs a hit of catnip to deal with these rabbits. "As I was saying, once again. Ryuren, you will tell Megumi-kun that it is time to tame Mahoraga... and the deer. Start with the deer. You can heal, right?"

The deer shikigami snorts. "Is water wet?"

"I don't...is this a trick question?"

"Of course I can heal."

Buyo squints. What happened to treating others how you want to be treated? "Why didn't you just say that? I was confirming that it was one of your abilities." Buro curls his top lip back. It is not as though he, Buyo, the greatest nekomata ever, concerned himself with what the ten shadow users could do. He got the information from the rabbits, and they are trickier than foxes, so naturally, like the smart demon he is, he asked simply to confirm.

None of them deserves his greatness. It is simply for Megumi-kun's sake that he puts up with them. Boosting their abilities with his demonic energy.

"Can we wrap this up?" Shiro questions, yawning. "I can't stay awake too much longer. I'm growing."

"Me too!" Ryuren chimes. "I'm gonna be as big as Mahoraga-san!"

Disgusting. Buyo grimaces and then musters the energy to continue. "Instruct Megumi-kun to tame the deer shikigami first, as it can heal him. I am not limited by his cursed energy and neither are you and Shiro, since you were born of Kagome-san's energy."

"So, we get to hit Deer with the one, two, three, four combo?" The rabbits smile and it is something made of nightmares. Their red eyes are unsettling.

"... Sure. We attack at once. And then we move to taming Mahoraga."

"Even so, at his current state, you think Megumi can tame me? I have fought stronger sorcerers, and he is not the strongest ten shadows user."

"Can others join in?"

"It would be invalid," Mahoraga quips. "So no, neither Gojo nor Sesshomaru could take part in helping Megumi to tame me."

"... Does Maki count?" Buyo asks weakly.

Mahoraga clamps his lips shut and leans back.

"Is that a, no?" Buyo walks over to Mahoraga and sits at his feet. He places a paw on his leg. "The zero cursed energy, Zenin. Does she count?"

Mahoraga taps his fingers on his knee and refuses to look at Buyo.

So, it's like that.

***

A/N: Wishing you an awesome week! Next side story will be the Accidental Multiverse and Teen Satoru is going to be jealous of Adult Satoru. No body take over for the Accidental verse.

Sorry I didn't update as frequently last week. It's been a little rough. Promise to get to everyone's questions this week.

Take care! Have a great Monday and make sure to drink plenty of water and get plenty of rest!

[yuesya]

thinking of all the fluff of daughter AU has. Tiny baby shiki is so brave and well behaved 😭😭😭😭 she deserves all the huggies and love of megumi shikigamis and i just know that gojo and utahime have hundred of photos of shiki ( who is usually so shy and quiet) playing and laughing with kuro and shiro like the little child she is

Ten Shadows has become the ultimate cursed technique for babysitting in this AU haha. There's probably a moment where someone asks Shiki what she thinks is the coolest cursed technique, and everyone expects her to say Limitless because she's attached to Gojo Satoru, except what comes out of the kid's mouth instead is, "Ten Shadows."

[itsfantasticac]

Castle of Shikigami 2 illustration by Miku Sonoda, for a 2003 issue of Arcadia magazine.

Shikigami no Shiro II - Koushiki Settei Shiryoushuu (Nov. 26, '03), pg. 8

[cursedvibes]

Not looking good for Hana. Either Sukuna kills her or Angel takes over to get serious, destroying her consciousness in the process. Or Angel somehow manages to snap Hana out of it in time (don't think that's likely). Technically this isn't even such a bad situation to be in because not only is Sukuna hugging Hana but she is hugging him, so if Angel wants to attack, this is the best moment. At close range her technique would be even more destructive.

I was surprised Hana agreed to banishing Sukuna-Megumi this quickly, I thought that would be a bigger argument between her and Angel, but it does make sense with her goal to safe people. She puts saving Megumi above his bodily well-being. I'm sure Yuuji will have to face a similar dilemma in the future. Her just falling into Sukuna's arms took me off-guard though. Angel is literally screaming in her ear that she should stay away from him, but she seems completely oblivious to it. It does make sense though I think, considering her past and how she first "met" Megumi. People are saying she's "acting on a dumb crush" or "trying to use the power of friendship", but that's not it. If her feelings for Megumi were just a crush or she simply thought he's hot, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be acting like this. It's more of a fixation. He seemingly got her out of a traumatic situation and she never managed to move on from that, probably because she never made any real deep connections with anybody afterwards.

She even says "Megumi is mine". She idolizes him, but also clings to him because in her mind he was the first person to show her kindness and she desperately wants to hold on to that. I thought it was weird that in her flashback Megumi doesn't really acknowledge her, but she still fixated on him this much. Considering how Sukuna managed to lower her guard, it makes more sense though. The gesture of reaching out to her, thanking her and telling her that everything is alright is what she wanted to see when he saved her with Shiro back in the day.

She grew up in a horrible and brutal environment. The children around her didn't seem to have much camaraderie due to fear. She constantly had to keep her head down and not stand out. Then a magical being comes by and seemingly picks her to lead her to safety, thereby acknowledging her and doing something good for her without demanding anything in return. It makes sense then, that this memory would have such a huge impact on her and by playing on that memory, Sukuna would be able to deceive her. If it was just a crush, Hana would have listened to Angel and stopped, but since it reached deeper than that, she was quite literally blinded. Hana wanted to return the favour and save Megumi, and at the same time wanted him to acknowledge that he really did see worth in her to bring her out of those ruins, that there was a purpose behind those actions (fate) and not just a whim or pure coincidence, where she herself didn't really matter. And that's what Sukuna gave her. She believes in fate because she wants her and her actions to matter (especially to others), and he reaffirmed that for her. This is also why I think that Megumi didn't actually consciously save her, Shiro just happened to run around and find her. Megumi was probably just practicing having his shikigamis out for a longer time. It makes for a good contrast between him and the facade Sukuna puts on.

She and Megumi are also quite similar in that they put a specific person on a pedestal and fail to really understand them as their own being with wants, needs, goals etc that go beyond them. And by failing to see that, they (most likely) lose agency over their own body and might even die. To be fair, Hana knew Megumi for like two days, of course she doesn't really know him (even if she believes otherwise). Megumi had over ten years to actually see Tsumiki for who she is...

But well, Hana's character was going to lead to this one way or another, so I'm not really surprised by this, just how it was executed. Her and Angels goals fundamentally clash and that has to be resolved. Only difference is that it's now Megumi instead of Yuuji, which is a lot more meaningful, since she has a deeper attachment to him. I still would have liked a bit more context surrounding Hana's decision to lower her guard and maybe a glimpse at her thoughts, but maybe we will get a bit more next chapter.

[drippingheart]

I'm tired. I'm tired. I'm tired. I wis— He never wished for anything, not in his entire life. Wasted breath. Wasted thought. He knew the universe did not harbor pity, and there was no devine power that listened to a little boy's pleading . . otherwise he wouldn't have wept to have a mother's arms around him . . otherwise he wouldn't have dreamed that a daddy would be waiting for him with with bags full of groceries as it felt his stomach was consuming itself. Deep down. Really deep, Fushiguro Megumi wanted a mom and a dad to show him what love really was.

He, too, wanted his sister and his mentor to be completely void of stress and harboring smiles which ached muscles. Deep down, he always knew he wanted these things, and merely suffocated the desire like it was something worth feeling guilty over. Megumi was struck with the severity of his desire for affection and happiness when all hope was abandoned. Aloofness and solemnity were wastes of time; his entire identity was fucking ruptured — it had all been for nothing, and he would die a whimpering, heartbroken boy.

Maybe Megumi should do what he deprived himself of as a toddler, to imagine and hope. If it was the last thing he would do before dying, and it certainly seemed that way, then he dreamed of changing the circumstances. Changing the time. Sukuna killed and killed and . . it wouldn't ever end, would it? He wished Tsumiki was alive, he wished for Gojō Satoru @limitlessscion to be alive and happy, and his dad . . maybe for him to be in the picture somehow if only for the sake to pull much needed answers.

When the King of Curses touched him or mocked him, it was always malicious and depraved. He was ripped apart as if the theft of his body was not already the greatest cruelty of it all, for the sins he committed using his hands. Yet there were hands, or was it a voice perhaps? Inside hell where it was darker than his chimera shadow garden, Megumi only knew his own cries like broken bones rattling in his skull; the sounds of limbs ripping and sorcerer death came from the exterior as muffled sounds. Fix it. Fix it. Go back and fix it, Fushiguro Megumi.

An angel? Kurusu Hana? Blood was in his ears. Blood inside his mouth. A stomach full of gore and regret. Then the defilement was purged, and Megumi swore he could breathe, and the air outside never smelled nor tasted so sweet. He cried . . sobbing, choking, a fucking slobbering mess of relief. Onyx lashes were heavy with salinity; he raised his hand to wipe away those tears shed and suppressing the ones threatening to break. His heart ached, ached enough that it produced a furrow in the flesh between eyes. It was all so normal . . as normal as waking up in a park was.

Warm and humid; summer kissed his skin and fireflies danced in his hair. Megumi should have been disturbed that there were likely ants or slugs crawling on his clothes, and, you know, that he was outside. In truth, he couldn't be bothered by whatever dirt and invertebrates he attracted. Being outside wasn't so strange. What was strange was a distant feeling of anxiety coiling in his guts and the ache in his heart. A bad dream. Like a corpse rising from the dead in a black-and-white film, Megumi rose his torso in a precise and stiff manner.

Gemstone eyes looked left and right. Toyko's bustle was within ear shot; the sheer amplitude of noise pollution informed him how close he was to restaurants and shop, yet things were peaceful in the park. Instinctually, he summoned his divine dogs and what should have been both kuro and shiro was just kuro. Right, shiro died. Right? It was like realizing dream was reality, only he knew not which part was part. Kuro gave no indication that something was amiss though dutifully pressed wet nose to its owner's cheek.

Megumi smiled, a thing reserved only for his shikigami, and threaded fingers through onyx fur far softer than the eye gave credit. Master and shikigami were not allowed to indulge in Tokyo's twilight for long as cursed energy thrummed through the ground like a heart coming alive or a a bee hive going on full alert. Kuro's lips drew up above gums as a growl emanated. A curse screeched like a banshee and plummeted like a fallen star some two hundred meters away from him. If curses could actually feel pain, it certainly was suffering.

The fireflies jumped away with fright even before the earth shattered in clumps of dirt and grass; strangely having remained with the appearance of the single divine dog. The little safe haven was desecrated as all things of happiness were short lived. Kuro's hairs were raised and limbs were set taunt, standing between the surge of energy as Megumi jumped to his feet. If the curse as akin to a falling star, the bodies which followed were the sun and moon . . beautiful and eclipsing. The ground quaked one, twice, a tree was severed in half, and then banshee of a curse was exorcised. Kuro still remained alert and snarling.

With the fall of one curse, several more appeared, seemingly out of thin air. Kuro bounded off with a thirst for the malformed, diseased flesh of the creatures, and Megumi ran after him and the curses. He could have ordered the shikigami through the connection of mind and soul, but he chose to ran after it like a child chasing a wild dog. Kuro! Curses of all queer shapes and sizes marched forward, some hovering in the air, others walking on two or four limbs.

They stared with eyes of various dimensions focusing on the dog and teenager as though they were all knowing. Watching but not attacking. Megumi took a defensive stance with knees bent and fists at the ready. Kuro was wild, more so than usual, and leap to rip the nearest curse into wet shreds of purple and ebony. The creatures swayed and then . . they were gone. Kuro landed on all four paws on the ground with only air between jaws and looking thoroughly displeased, though that was only discernible to Megumi.

Confusion was quickly blanketed. The moon and sun appeared; the cursed energy he sensed following the banshee's descent. Onyx hair and uniform blended into the park void of illumination while ivory-hair seemed to catch what little light from adjacent street lamps were still standing. Kuro whined suddenly. Bristling hairs flattened as the shikigami returned to Megumi's side. It acted only as it did in privacy . . or in the presence of familiar and welcoming faces. The boy's guts twisted painfully, enough that he wanted to wrap his arms around Kuro and shove his face in the fluffy scruff of midnight.

He, of course, refrained, and stood ground with stiff posture as he recalled his divine dog back into the shadows. He felt guilty about that for some reason; he was feeling strange about a lot of things. The furrow between his eyebrows became more prominent, and the rigidness of his spine would have put any soldier to shame. Even in the darkness, the sorcerer wore exaggerated round sunglasses. Upon seeing his tiny and distorted reflection in them, Megumi could taste blood in his mouth, felt it on his brow. Megumi fought the urge to wipe his brow; he knew he would find nothing but dew and sweat.

── ❛ Gojō? ❜

He knew this man . . this teenager. For some reason, he was almost compelled to close the distance between then in a run, but the weight of bewilderment and even fright anchored him down. The fireflies returned, albeit slowly, and they, too, reflected in those strange lenses. Fix it. A distance thought? A voice? Fix what? He had not felt this anxious like the time he saw his father for the last time and tried to lie to himself that he did not care. His father, Tsumiki, and . . Satoru. Yes, he knew Gojō Satoru.

── ❛ Gojō-sensei . . ❜

[citycrows]

Hello Crow I just wanted t say that I really like your art and your sad concepts they make me weep T.T

I also wanted to ask whats your "complicated feelings about megumi being saved'? Do you think he's already dead? And maybe Shiro is his grim reaper? That would be pretty cool!

I hope it was cathartic for you anon 🙏 longing and heartbreak are my favorite expressions of love so you can probably expect much of the same in the future.

You're definitely onto something with Shiro being Megumi's shepherd to the afterlife, but in the called home piece the wolf is actually our boy Yuuji.

I don't think he's dead (since he isn't in canon) this is just my idea of what it would look like if the one person Yuuji ends up saving is Megumi, by freeing him from torment and madness and guiding him to a proper death 🥹

Of course I want him to live and I want Yuuji to save him. Megumi has done everything alone up until now - he has to tame his shikigami alone, worried about Tsumiki alone, achieved domain expansion alone, defeated the special grade alone, fought for his life against his father alone, was killed by Makora alone, killed people in the culling game alone (!!??)- Yuuji so desperately wants to save him and I want him to take Yuuji's hand.

[tokageh]

her approach is slow, hesitant; doe-like, even, as if approaching hunter. this request is of the utmost importance! she must proceed with caution! fingers twiddled mindlessly, eyes to the floor. “ah, megumi..? may i…” deep inhale, then: “please allow me to pet your divine dogs!” 🙏

her apprehensive approach has his teeth set on edge. it is only a matter of time before she asks something of him. why can people not simply come out with what they want? the mere build-up has irritation flushing underneath his skin, but then --- her request is charming. something easily fulfillable, and he wouldn't even have to move from his lax position, feet up on his desk. ‟ oh -- ” it catches him off-guard. a hand raises, reaches into the shadows to bring forth the shikigami. they appear, subdued, relaxed, trained to focus on his emotions when beckoned forth. white fur brushes against his legs as shiro whines for attention, a gaze cast between megumi and remilia as though asking permission. kuro adapts the tendencies of his master, and flops down on the floor without a second thought. his next words answers both remi and shiro in step --- ‟ yes, go on. ”

[wuucchoo]

Ten Shadows

and how all the Shikigamis need to be dead in order to unlock its real power.

a theory. :D

If anyone sees this, hello there!! after that binding vow theory i have another one right here! this time its about my boy Megumi and his CT!

I dont want this to get too long again so I'm just gonna get right to it! First of all, this two pages from ch 13!

In this scene, we saw Megumi discover that he has access to a pocket dimension in the shadow realm. Which is very super cool! ((look at him, he's so happy (つ╥﹏╥)つ))

And this is all cool and all, but! I don't believe for a single second that this ability has been there the entire time and Megumi just never knew. Kids are curious, so there's no way that Megumi as a child just never accidentally slipped through his pocket shadow like that.

So where did he get this?

Here, my friend, is where the theory begins!

Chapter 9:

This was when Orochi died :'( and i think you can see now where I'm going with this ehe. Sukuna killing Orochi gave Megumi direct access to Orochi's power! Because Megumi discovered this ability right after the juvenile detention incident!

Now this could be hard copium since we don't really know much about Orochi.

This panel:

is the only one we have of it showing its power. And by this small panel, we can speculate that Orochi's power is shadow focused. But its just speculations!

When Shiro died, it combined with Kuro right after - because Kuro and Shiro are a pair! But when Orochi died where did it go?

hmm...

Now, i know that we saw Sukuna have access to Max Elephant's water jet - which was super very cool too - however, i think that one is different compared to how the shadow pocket integrated within Megumi entirely.

But! I dont think the shikigamis have to be dead for a user to borrow its ability; Sukuna was able to imitate Max Elephant's ability and Megumi, using Chimera Shadow Garden, was able to create shadow clones of himself (something akin to the rabbit's ability) all while the rabbit and the elephant are alive. Them being ultra dead (like orochi, agito, and makora) just gives the user complete and total control of the dead shikigami's ability. (....Probably!)

I think Gege had an author's note somewhere where he explains the passing of power for the shikigamis but i cant really find it right now.

Anyway! If you read up to here, hello again! Thank you for reading! And if you have any counter please feel free to do so! Im happy to discuss!

[k-martins]

Oh, actually, this is really exciting. There are some interesting parallels between Yuji and the white dog (Shiro) _ They both died on the same day _ They are friendly _ Both are trustworthy _ Megumi was very attached to Shiro

In most mythologies, the white wolf symbolizes protection, intelligence, sociability and compassion, being the antagonistic part of the black wolf. Yuji is also associated with the white tiger of Byakko, the protector of the western cardinal point (I talked about it in this post), which ended up becoming his nickname at his old school.

The curious point is that one of Megumi's Shikigami is also a tiger that has not yet been shown, which makes him doubly linked to Yuji. It's interesting for me to see how Megumi and Yuji complement each other, whether it's Megumi being the duo's strategist and Yuji the muscles, Yuji being a melee fighter while Megumi is better at long distances. Black and white, like yin yan.

I wonder if the wolf thing was intentional or just an aesthetic choice, although I doubt Gege would approve of something like that if it wasn't to create parallels. This man likes to pair manga with anime. Overall, I'm just rambling on about these. After the last chapter, I'm getting impatient with the manga and Gege Akutami.