Minamoto no yorihisa

Minamoto no Yorihisa (源頼久) is one of the main characters from Koei and Ruby Party's popular neoromance game Harukanaru Toki no Naka De which was serialised into a manga and subsequently an anime series. "This page discusses the anime/manga rendition of Yorihisa's character and should not be confused with the gameplay incarnation."

Also known as: nihongo|Ten no Seiryuu|天の青龍. (Seiryuu of Heaven)

Basic information

:Yorihisa is a descendant of a proud nihongo|武士|bushi (samurai) line, who has trained with a sword for as long as he can remember. Raised by his older brother nihongo|実久|Sanehisa), Yorihisa has been in the service of Fuji-hime's family since he came to Kyou as a teenager and even since his brother's death has continued to serve as guardsman and protector of the Sadaijin's clan. [(Harukanaru Toki no Naka De: Hachiyou Shou Episode 7/Harukanaru Toki no Naka De: manga)]

:In the anime and the manga, he is the first of the Kyou-based Hachiyou to receive one of the dragon's gems, and the second Kyou-based Hachiyou that Akane meets (Tomomasa being the first).

:Yorihisa's position in the Hachiyou is "Ten no Seiryuu" or Seiryuu of Heaven, and his battle partner in this respect is Morimura Tenma. Yorihisa's Hachiyou power seem to manifest mostly as wind power using his katana, though it is at its strongest when he and Tenma combine their power together in order to fight.

Personality

:Yorihisa is an expert in all things military, and his training means that he's often quick to react by pulling his katana rather than looking for a more peaceable solution to the situation. He is an extremely strong swordsman, intervening on more than one occasion to rescue Akane from threats (and taking injuries in her name). Although Tenma often challenges him, he has not yet managed to defeat Yorihisa in combat. [Hachiyou Shou Episode 19] Even wounded, Yorihisa has faith in his swordsman's skill, even facing such experienced and strong fighters such as the oni leader Akuram [Hachiyou Shou Episode 4] and his comrade Ikutidaru [Hachiyou Shou Episode 16] without hesitation. He and Tenma get off completely on the wrong foot in the beginning, since Yorihisa believes Tenma is a rogue trying to hurt Akane, and Tenma believes Yorihisa has Akane prisoner [Hachiyou Shou Episode 2] . However, after they are forced to work together to rescue Akane from Akuram's clutches, they find common ground and Tenma actually admits to respecting Yorihisa's ability. [Hachiyou Shou Episode 13] By the end of the anime and the manga, they have a strong friendship which almost mirrors an older brother/younger brother relationship (which in the anime is illustrated by Yorihisa's protective actions towards him, see below).

:Yorihisa always uses formal language to speak to those who outrank him - namely Fuji-hime and her family, Takamichi, Tomomasa, Yasuaki and Akane herself. Many of these he refers to with the suffix "-dono", whereas for the Emperor's brother Eisen he uses "-sama". In contrast, he uses no honorifics and more casual, abrupt speech with those he considers his equals or inferiors - such as Tenma, Shimon, and Inori. He always refers to Akane as "Miko-dono", and never by her name, in indication of her status in his eyes as someone whose position is far above him. He takes his duties as 'guard-dog' of the Sadaijin's property very seriously, and does not even seem to sleep - rising before dawn, and retiring after everyone else. He also never steps inside the property when the Hachiyou are gathered for meetings, preferring instead to keep his status position outside the mansion as befits a guard on duty.

:He has command of a body of guardsmen, but answers implicitly to orders visited on him from above, and is willing to sacrifice his life in defence of those he is meant to protect. He is very conscious of his position at all times, and will always do as Akane asks, even if it's something he does not want to do. For example, reluctantly accepting the duty of playing the part of a thief when Akane wants to play matchmaker between two troubled young souls. Although he is horrified that as a "bushi" warrior he is expected to lower his standards to that level, he tells her fervently that "If it's the Miko-dono's will, I, Yorihisa, will be a thief with all my heart and soul!" [Hachiyou Shou Episode 18/manga]

:Yorihisa's loyalty to Akane is fairly constant and unquestionable. This is highlighted particularly in the recent chapters of the manga where, despite having no memory of Akane or his time as one of the Hachiyou, Yorihisa chooses to go with Akane and Ikutidaru in order to find a way to break Akuram's curse. He tells her that he is bound by her orders even over Fuji-hime's, and because of it he encourages her to order him to accompany her so that he can go with her to the Oni hideout and keep her safe. Even though he can't remember his bond with her, and is currently without Hachiyou powers, he acts time and time again to defend her, taking injury on her behalf and doing his best to keep her safe from harm. [LalaDX Manga chapters Sept 2007 onwards]

Relationships - Akane

:In the manga, Yorihisa does not speak at all for the first few chapters, startling Akane when he does use his voice for the first time. Although to begin with Akane is somewhat afraid of him, she comes to realise that he is simply awkward with other people and anything that is outside of his military upbringing (particularly members of the opposite sex). In volume 13 of the manga, Akane even tells him that "With your sword you can be scary, but without it, you can look kind of stupid." [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga: Volume 13] (which observation mortifies him completely!)

:Due to his blatant lack of understanding where other people and situations are concerned, the most common phrase Yorihisa uses in the anime and the manga is probably nihongo|申し訳ありません| moushiwake arimasen or nihongo|申し訳ございません|moushiwake gozaimasen (both very formal ways of saying "I'm sorry").

:Yorihisa's awkwardness without his sword is clear on several occasions - the earliest being a squabble with Tenma during which the pair of them manage to somehow shove Akane off a bridge and into the stream below. After this event, Akane is half afraid Yorihisa might try to kill himself for having endangered his charge. [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga Volume 3]

:The second occasion is during one of Akane's forced "confinements" (on an unsuitable day, or "Monoimi") where he is meant to be standing guard and protecting her from outside interference. Instead, however, he overhears her talking to someone (Ryuujin's messenger) and mistakes it for an attack. Consequently he charges in, managing to fall on top of her in the process. [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Hachiyou Shou Episode 14 /Manga:]

:The most blatant example of his awkwardness is in Volume 12 of the manga, where - having induced a fever in himself - he manages to kiss Akane in his sleep. This is - to date - the only instance of a Hachiyou kissing Akane anywhere in the manga or the anime (although the manga is still ongoing at the time of writing). Typically, he has no memory of the event after he wakes up. When he discovers his action, he is embarrassed and determined to somehow atone for it. As yet only Takamichi (aside from Akane and Yorihisa themselves) officially found out about the kiss, although Tomomasa seems to have discovered it (probably from Takamichi). This scene does not appear at all in the animated series (since these volumes of the manga were printed after the end of the anime's production run). However since all of the Hachiyou had their memories wiped at the end of Volume 14 [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Volume 14] , it seems unlikely that any of them - Yorihisa included - are currently aware that this event took place.

:Yorihisa's actions are always with Akane's best interests in mind but they do not always work out the way he plans. When he catches her climbing over the roof of one of the Sadaijin's estate buildings he does his best to get her down, but in doing so pulls her almost on top of him, causing them to bang heads and embarrassing Akane thoroughly in the process. She comments; "Why is it that strange things always happen when I'm with Yorihisa-san?" to which he responds with a startled, "What do you mean - have I done something wrong?". [September 2007 LaLaDX Manga Chapter]

Yorihisa's Past

:Yorihisa blames himself somewhat for his brother's death (in the manga, this is even more clearly highlighted, when he is afraid to face his brother's spirit in a dream). In the anime, he exorcises his guilt by protecting Tenma in a similar situation to the one in which his brother died, and getting wounded in the process. [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Hachiyou Shou Episode 16] This scene does not occur in the manga. Instead, Sanehisa appears first to Akane, asking her to help him make contact with his brother. [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga: Volume 12] . In the anime, Yorihisa discusses his brother's death with first Akane, then Tenma [Hachiyou Shou Episode 19] - but only after the incident in which Yorihisa intervened on Tenma's behalf. In the manga, Yorihisa merely confesses his fears to Akane whilst under the influence of the self-inflicted fever. [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga Episode 12] Sanehisa's name is only mentioned in the anime during Episode 16, where it is screamed rather indistinctly (and often mis-heard) by the kidnapped young lord, resulting in a variety of interpretations. His name is given on the credits as Minamoto no Sanehisa, however, which tallies with the manga [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Hachiyou Shou Episode 16 - kidnap scene and closing credits.] .

:In the manga, Yorihisa's position as one of the "Ten" Hachiyou meant that he was forced to receive a dream message from his dead brother about the location of the Eastern seal - however because of his level, controlled personality, he tells Akane that he can't be Ten no Seiryuu because he doesn't have dreams. [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga: Vols 11, 12] In the anime, the Seiryuu seal is the first one to be found [Hachiyou Shou anime episode 16] - whereas in the manga it is the last one, due to Yorihisa's inability to dream and fear of facing Sanehisa's ghost [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga: Vols 11, 12] . Yorihisa consequently doesn't know until late on in the manga that his Hachiyou position is Ten no Seiryuu, although in the anime we are told right at the start which Hachiyou he is.

:Yorihisa is fiercely proud (as befits his warrior status), and his dedication to both pride and duty are illustrated in his friendship with the mountain "Nue" - a demon creature which he originally tried to hunt down as a young boy. Although told by his brother that the Nue is a cruel beast, the boy Yorihisa discovered that this was not the case, and this alliance proved to be his first proper friendship. However, his continued visits to the Nue's forest were in pursuit of strengthening his own ability to the point where he could win a battle against the more powerful creature. However, he was never able to defeat the Nue during these years. Sadly, thanks to Akuram's meddling, Nue and Yorihisa are forced to face each other and fight properly when Nue takes Akane hostage - partly because Akuram wants him to, but also because he wants to draw Yorihisa to him. To rescue Akane, and free Nue from Akuram's spell, Yorihisa is forced to kill his old friend. This is a particularly touching and tragic moment for him - as he strikes the final blow, he observes "The last Nue no longer cries.", indicating that no matter what Akuram had made him do, he still considered the Nue his old friend. [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Hachiyou Shou Episode 7] .

:Yorihisa is also embarrassed by any recollection of his childhood. When he discovers that Sanehisa has revealed elements of it to Akane in his dream conversation with her, he is horrified. [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga Volume 12] He prefers to keep those things to himself, rarely speaking about his own past in any respect whatsoever. It is only during or after the encounters with Sanehisa in both anime and manga that Yorihisa opens up to Akane any about his history. [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga Volume 12] .

Other Information

:"The closing theme of Episode 7 (and the song played during Yorihisa's final battle with the Nue) is Tsuioku no mori no sasagu, sung by Yorihisa's seiyuu Miki Shinichirou."

References

External links

* [http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/neoromance/ Neoromance official site]
* [http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/haruka/ TV Tokyo website]
* [http://haruka8tv.gamecity.ne.jp/ Haruhachi Koei official fansite]
*ann anime|id=4484|title=Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Hachiyō Shō