Seishirō Sakurazuka
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| Seishirō Sakurazuka | |
|---|---|
| Clamp character | |
 X Infinity. Artwork by Clamp |
|
| First appearance | Tokyo Babylon |
| Created by | Clamp |
| Voiced by | Japanese Takehito Koyasu (Tokyo Babylon) Tōru Furusawa (X feature film) Otoya Kawano (X TV series) Hiroki Touchi (Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle) English Dean Fenton (Tokyo Babylon) Garrick Hagon (X feature film) Dave Mallow (X TV series) J. Michael Tatum (Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle) |
| Portrayed by | Shihodo Wataru (Tokyo Babylon 1999) |
| Profile | |
| Aliases | The Sakurazukamori |
| Age | Tokyo Babylon 25 X/1999 33 |
| Date of birth | November 22 1966[1] |
| Date of death | Unknown (1999) |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | Veterinarian, Assassin |
| Known relatives | Setsuka Sakurazuka (mother) |
Seishirō Sakurazuka (桜塚 星史郎 Sakurazuka Seishirō?) is a fictional character created by Clamp in their 1990 manga Tokyo Babylon.
In Tokyo Babylon, he appears as a kindly veterinarian engaged in a love-hate relationship with the onmyoji Subaru Sumeragi. He is also known as the Sakurazukamori, Japan’s number one assassin. The character returns in the apocalyptic manga X as a soldier in the battle of Armageddon, a Dragon of Earth.
An alternate version of the character appears in Clamp's crossover series, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle.
Contents |
[edit] Profile
[edit] Early years
Seishirō was born in the mid-1960s[1] to Setsuka Sakurazuka, a member of the Sakurazukamori (桜塚護 Cherry Blossom burial mound guardian?), an assassin clan empowered by black onmyōdō and represented by an inverted pentagram.
A Sakurazukamori is expected to kill their target without compunction, as well as their relatives and anyone else who sees them at their grim work. Sakurazukamori's attacks involves shikigami[2], ofuda (paper spells often thrown at targets) and hand-to-hand combat. They can also wield massive illusions, heralded by uncanny showers of cherry blossoms, in which victims can be trapped and killed. A person targeted by the Sakurazukamori may glimpse a ghostly cherry tree, whose blossoms are always in bloom even out of season.[3]
Although it is stated to have many "allies and clients", the clan of the Sakurazukamori in fact consists of only one member at a time, with the new Sakurazukamori killing their predecessor[4]. Thus, from an early age he was trained to become the next Sakurazukamori, both in terms of his physical and magical abilities; he was also raised to be devoid of emotions such as love and hate, and to place no value on human life.
At the age of 15 Seishirō killed his mother Setsuka and assumed the role, subsequently noting that: "I felt nothing. Though drenched in my mother's blood... I felt nothing. And those I killed after that were the same."[4] As she died, Setsuka prophesied that her son would one day be killed by the one he loved most (as she had been), a notion that Seishirō dismissed as impossible.
In the mid-1980s, Seishirō had an encounter during one of his assassin missions: he had just killed a small girl when an innocent 9-year-old boy approached him, and attempted to exorcize the illusionary cherry tree that accompanied him. Seishirō, not realising at the time that this was the future head of the Sumeragi clan, was nonetheless intrigued, and held off from killing the boy as he should have done; instead, he whispered a bet to him (much of which he subsequently obscured from the boy's memory):
| “ | If you and I should ever meet again, let us live together for one year. My heart is the direct inverse of yours... you are kind, pure, and honest. And I'm sure that is how you will continue to grow up. Your heart will remain pure. So, if we should ever meet again, I will try my hardest to learn to love you. Just for one year... and after that year, if I can consider you "special", you will have won and I will not kill you. But if I decide that I cannot consider you special to me -- if I cannot distinguish the difference between you and that corpse, then... I will kill you. And so today... I will let you go. | ” |
Seishirō then kissed the boy on the backs of his hands, marking them with inverted pentagrams, so that he would recognise him if, as in the bet, they ever met again.[4]
[edit] Tokyo Babylon
Seishirō subsequently created the "legitimate front" of a humble, bespectacled veterinarian working in Shinjuku, Tokyo. His concern for animal life was entirely false: the animals in his surgery were in fact "sacrificed in his stead", suffering the backlash (逆凪 sakanagi?) from deadly attack spells he had used.[5]
In 1991 he met up with 16-year-old Subaru Sumeragi, Japan's most powerful onmyoji, after the latter's shikigami caused an unlikely meeting between the two at Ikebukuro train station.
Seishirō, by now 25 years old, recognised Subaru as the boy he had marked as "prey" years before (despite the fact that Subaru was now wearing magically-enchanted gloves to conceal the pentagrams), and began a year of courtship that would ultimately change both of their lives. Often he would profess his love for the boy, with Subaru's eccentric twin sister Hokuto enthusiastically supporting the pairing, much to Subaru’s embarrassment. Seishirō also protected Subaru on several occasions, even sacrificing his right eye to protect Subaru from a knife-wielding attacker.
Though freely sharing his knowledge of the occult and occasionally using his powers, Seishirō obscured his true identity and personal details (as an onmyōji could be attacked by someone knowing their true date and place of birth) and avoiding admitting even the derivation of his own last name. Hokuto suspected he was the Sakurazukamori (even half-jokingly threatening to kill him if he ever hurt her brother[6]), but continued to try to bring the two together. Seishirō appeared amused by the decadence of Tokyo society ("Where else on Earth do so many people enjoy their descent into destruction?"[7]), and noted that people are entirely self-motivated ("Even when we want to do something for another person, it's only because we want the satisfaction that we made someone else happy"[8]). However, by himself, Seishirō would often brood on his own nature ("Kindness... and a "pure" heart... two things that couldn't be more alien to me."[9]), and frequently hinted at the bet he had made.
On one occasion he concealed his assassin nature from Subaru by rendering the latter unconscious when about to carry out a hit.[6]
When the year had passed, Subaru had finally realised his love for Seishirō, but at this point Seishirō revealed his true nature as the Sakurazukamori, as well as the nature of the bet. He trapped Subaru inside an illusion (which featured the same cherry tree under which they had met many years before) and tortured him, all the while insisting that he was unmoved and thought of the boy as no more than an "object", and wondering why Subaru was upset when similar "betrayals" happened across Tokyo every day. He almost killed the young onmyōji, but Subaru's grandmother intervened to free him from the illusion, leaving herself crippled as a result.
Seishirō disappeared from Subaru's life after this point; Hokuto, fearing that he would come after her brother, offered up her own life in his place. Seishirō accepted and stabbed her through the heart; with her last breath, Hokuto cast a spell whose effects would subsequently be revealed in X.
At the end of Tokyo Babylon, Seishirō was seen to have acquired a glass eye to replace the eye he had lost. He also exchanged his normal spectacles for a pair of sunglasses to conceal this.
[edit] X/1999
After leaving Tokyo following the events of Tokyo Babylon, Seishirō returned to the city to assume his place as one of the Dragons of Earth. He first met up with Subaru in X after destroying one of the city’s kekkai, and encountered him again several more times throughout the year, most of these encounters ending in magical combat.
Though still unemotional, Seishirō made an unlikely friend in Fūma, the most powerful Dragon of Earth; the two shared a love of decadence and decided to eat out in all the best restaurants of any place they were about to destroy.
- Rainbow Bridge
The final battle between Seishirō and Subaru takes place during volume 16 of the manga, on the Rainbow Bridge. After some time of fighting, Seishirō heads in for the finishing blow. Hokuto’s final spell takes effect, leaving Subaru with his hand through Seishirō’s chest, killing the Sakurazukamori instead. Hokuto’s final wish was Subaru could not be killed the same way she was. Seishirō knew it, effectively committing suicide.
The assassin thought that was Subaru’s wish and that was why he did it. His last words were
| “ | Subaru-kun, I... you… | ” |
He finished that sentence, but only Subaru heard it. Coupled with his mother's prophecy that he would be killed by the one he loved the most, it would imply Seishirō had emotions and was in love with Subaru, regardless of his previous claims.
- Seishirō’s Wish
After the incident on Rainbow Bridge, Subaru is slated to become the next Sakurazukamori, for the ritual of succession for Sakurazukamori is to kill their predecessor.
Seishirō wished for Subaru to return to being as he was before they met. As such, he asks Fūma to give Subaru his eye for the one the young man lost. This act completes this ritual and, after regaining his full sight, Subaru becomes the 14th Sakurazukamori and one of the Dragons of Earth.
[edit] Relationships
[edit] Subaru Sumeragi
In Tokyo Babylon, Seishirō claims to be in love with Subaru. However, he reveals it was all a scam, and claims that he really felt nothing for Subaru at all, reinforcing this fact by attempting to kill the 16 year old Subaru, and ultimately killing his beloved sister.
Throughout X, Seishirō often engages in battle with Subaru. He is victorious for the most part, and frequently teases Subaru by calling him cute and criticizing his nicotine addiction.
It is clear in Tokyo Babylon, that Subaru had feelings for him. Those feeling were likely carried into their time in X, despite Subaru's proclaimed hatred for Seishirou. Subaru's romantic feelings were seen in X when Subaru holds Seishirou closely after his death. This can only be seen as romantic, as he seemed soft and caring as he spoke about how Seishirou's last words surprised him.
Due to his last words, various times he protected Subaru in Tokyo Babylon, and seemed to go easy on him in battle, it is often thought by fans that the feelings of love Subaru felt were actually mutual. But, because of Seishirou's death, it is unlikely that the readers will ever know for sure.
[edit] Fūma Monō
Seishirō's interaction with Fūma is limited. However, a friendly relationship is forged quickly and effortlessly when they meet up. The Dragons of Earth leader seems to be one of the only ones who could ever befriend the Sakurazukamori, and the two even frequent as to sample the best eateries in Tokyo before destroying them, going so far as to share an ice cream.
Fūma also helps in order to fulfill Seishirō’s wish by giving Subaru his seeing eye after his death.
[edit] Setsuka Sakurazuka
Seishirō’s relationship with his mother Setsuka, the previous Sakurazukamori, is borderline incestuous. The drama CD states that he was taken away from her right after he was born, and the two wouldn't see each other until Seishirō reached nine years of age. Setsuka herself is a woman who looks extremely young and acts very affectionately and free-spiritedly in Seishirō’s eyes, but this comes up with a darker twist; she speaks openly and almost cheerfully about her duty as the Sakurazukamori in front of young Seishirō and kisses him on the lips at least twice, once during his first visit, and the other right before she dies.
Setsuka is the one who prophesizes Seishirō’s death at the hands of the “one he loved the most”, and the succession of the next Sakurazukamori, as she lays dying in Seishirō’s arms.
[edit] Appearances in other media
[edit] Tokyo Babylon 1999
 |
Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (March 2008) |
In the live-action sequel to CLAMP's manga, Seishirō Sakurazuka is portrayed by Shihodo Wataru. In the film, the Sakurazukamori assassinates a former enemy of the Sumeragi clan; however, his signature hand-through-the-chest style of killing is dropped in favor of magically strangling his victims. Also, no references to his characteristic cherry blossoms are made.
[edit] Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
In Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Seishirō appears as a mysterious traveler from Syaoran's past who also gained the power to travel between worlds from Yūko Ichihara, the Dimension Witch. He is currently searching for the vampire twins and, like his younger brother, he is a treasure hunter, not a vampire hunter like originally believed. His abilities include summoning Oni to fight for him. He is able to perform these abilities with the help one of Sakura's feathers, which Syaoran failed to retrieve in their encounter in Ōto Country. An experienced fighter, Seishirō was also the one to teach Syaoran how to fight by utilizing the longer reach of his legs to compensate for the lack of sight in one eye.
Later he appeared in Nihon Country and discovered that Fai had vampire blood. Initially he thought Fai and his friends knew the location of Subaru. After realizing they didn't, he intended to leave Nihon, but was challenged by Syaoran for the feather. Seishirō remarks how Syaoran is like his father, referring to Syaoran's true father and not Fujitaka, the adoptive father of Syaoran's clone throughout the battle. In Tsubasa Chaptere 189, it was revealed that Syaoran Li was 'Syaoran's father. How Seishirō knows Syaoran has not yet been explained.
After Syaoran unleashed his ultimate spell (all four of his elemental spells combined) on Seishirō, he reclaimed the feather and was sent into the Dream alone to rescue Sakura's soul. However, it seems that Seishirō intended to give the feather to Syaoran; his brother, Fuuma, remarks, "You were planning to hand over that feather right from the start, weren't you? To that kid [Syaoran]."
Seishirō is currently in Nihon Country.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Seishirō claims in Tokyo Babylon book 3, vol.3, that his date of birth was 1 April 1965 and his place of birth Tokyo, but reveals in book 7, annex "Secret" that both were false.
- ^ Seishirō's shikigami takes the form of a bird of prey, referred to by Subaru in the TOKYOPOP translation of Tokyo Babylon book 2, vol.2. as a hawk.
- ^ In Tokyo Babylon, Seiichiro paraphrases the opening line of Motojirō Kajii's "Under the Cherry Trees", "Dead bodies are buried under the cherry trees" (桜の樹の下には屍体が埋まっている！ Sakura no ki no shita ni wa shitai ga umatte iru!?).
- ^ a b c Tokyo Babylon book 7, vol. 11. (English translation by TOKYOPOP)
- ^ Tokyo Babylon book 7, annexe "Secret". Seishirō also defines the term sakanagi in book 3, vol.3.
- ^ a b Tokyo Babylon book 4. vol.5.
- ^ Tokyo Babylon book 1, vol.0. (English translation by TOKYOPOP)
- ^ Tokyo Babylon book 6, vol.9. (English translation by TOKYOPOP)
- ^ Tokyo Babylon book 5, vol.8. (English translation by TOKYOPOP)
