39,327
edits
Youkai: Difference between revisions
m
update links
m (update links) |
m (update links) |
||
Line 2:
Youkai are a widely-varied collection of various supernatural creatures that pop up in [[Shinto]] religion. They have a lot in common with [[The Fair Folk]]. Some youkai are good, others are evil, and many are [[Blue and Orange Morality|different]]. Some are mischievous, others avoid humans entirely. Shinto is an animist religion, and youkai are often associated with natural features such as forests and mountains. This word is often translated as "demon" in Western translations, but that does not adequately describe the creatures in question. The closest true Western equivalent is probably that of the ancient Roman [[wikipedia:Genius (mythology)|genii]] or [[Our Spirits Are Different|spirits]].
Supernatural creatures drawn from Western sources often turn out to seem more like youkai in Japanese works.<ref> Fun fact -- the Japanese word for vampire contains the character for oni.</ref> For instance, vampires. In the West you've got Nosferatu -- a grotesque, undead monster who burns in sunlight and murders to preserve his hideous unlife<ref>Notably, this may be used to refer both to the classic film character and to one of the clans in ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]'', which features other kinds of vampires, with the same powers and weaknesses, but characteristics that set them apart into clans</ref>. In Japan you've got [[Cute Monster Girl|exceptionally cute]] [[Fan Service]] protagonist [[Rosario
''Henge'', a subset of youkai, are magical animals with [[Shapeshifting]] powers and human intelligence. They often [[Humanity Ensues|assume human form]] and get into all kinds of mischief. Kinds of ''henge'' include Kitsune, Tanuki, and Nekomata.
''Obake'' is another Japanese word that can indicate some type of monster. Derived from the word for “to change,” it generally covers the subset of youkai that includes shapeshifting animals and [[Animate Inanimate Object|Animate Inanimate Objects]]. Confusingly, however, the word ''obake'' can also be used to refer to ghosts, also known as ''yuurei''. See [[Stringy
The list presented below is by no means complete. Many types of Youkai are exceedingly rare to find in modern media and so are not included. On the other hand, '''[[Kitsune]]''', '''[[Kappa]]''' and '''[[Tanuki]]''' have garnered enough examples to warrant their own pages.
Line 12:
----
'''Nekomata''': A seemingly ordinary cat that develops magical nature through long life. It looks like an ordinary house cat, except for the tail, which splits into two at half-length. While much smarter than it used to be, a nekomata remains just as whimsical, which may be dangerous with its new found powers of illusion and [[Necromancy]]. It's said a cat will become a nekomata after turning 100 years old, where upon its tail splits, it starts using human speech, some how gains [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|transformation]] powers, a greater intelligence, and other [[Screw the Rules, I Have Supernatural Powers|odd abilities]]. The name is often used and confused for [[Catgirl|catgirls]]. May be a [[Mega Neko]].
== Nekomata Examples ==
Line 20:
** Orin, though, is a [http://www.catgirls.org.uk/mythology/japan.html#kasha Kasha], a different type of youkai cat.
* Found in the ''[[Disgaea]]'' series (and are used in quick leveling tricks in BOTH the first and second ones). They are more [[Catgirl|Cat Girls]], however.
* Natsuki, the [[Catgirl]] protagonist of ''[[Hyper Police]]'' is revealed to be a nekomata in a moment of anger (her tail splits in two)
* Tora of ''[[Ushio and Tora]]'' is named for his tiger-like appearance.
* Kirara in ''[[Inuyasha]]''.
Line 29:
* In ''[[Mokke]]'', one episode centers around a nekomata.
* The X-Antibody version of Tailmon from ''[[Digimon]]'' is two-tailed.
* One of the protagonists of ''[[Omamori Himari]]'' is a shapeshifting cat.
* Rin's familiar in ''[[Blue Exorcist]]'' is one, and can grow to become [[Mega Neko|gigantic]].
* Comparing to other werecats in ''[[Monster Girl Encyclopedia]]'', Nekomata's rather tame and even give up on a man should he refuse her advance. She's still a monster though, and will eventually assault her prey to take his spirit energy. Unlike in myth, Nekomata in this series are being ones since birth. And since this world is full with [[Cute Monster Girl]], her form become inverse, with human form being true one.
Line 37:
----
'''Tsukumogami''': [[Animate Inanimate Object|inanimate objects]] that come to life after a hundred years. These can range from weapons to clothes to umbrellas (''karakasa''). Strangely, they avoid electrical energy in common folklore from the 1940's and it is said that no modern object could ever become a Tsukogami.
== Tsukumogami Examples ==
Line 74:
* King Enma and his underlings in ''[[Dragon Ball]]'', mostly bureaucrats working in <s>HFIL</s> Hell.
* Lum from ''[[Urusei Yatsura]]'' is a variation -- she's an alien, but of a race obviously related to folktale Oni.
* To some extent, Kamen Riders of ''[[Kamen Rider Hibiki]]'' are all called Oni who fought the Makamous with martial arts and the power of music.
* One of the [[Transformation Ray|Transformation Rays]] in ''[[Keroro Gunsou]]'' essentially turns people into Oni, by cheaply slapping on Oni features, arming them with clubs and turning their clothes into hide loincloths. Female victims tend to wind up looking like Lum.
* Drahmin and Moloch from ''[[Mortal Kombat]]'', though [[In Name Only]] (like many other Japanese-named things in ''Mortal Kombat'', by the way)
Line 86:
* The final level of the "The Islands" region of ''[[Little Big Planet]]'' is called "The Terrible Oni's Volcano". Appropriately enough, the final boss is an Oni made of Fire Material.
* The first ''[[Summoner]]'' game takes place partially in the empire of Orenia, a fantasy setting based on an amalgamation of China and Japan. Oni appear as [[Random Encounters|random monsters]], but are concentrated in the [[Lost Woods|Forest of Lianshan]], where they are said to be the cursed spirits of humans who turn bestial over time. Killing them doesn't remove the curse, and their monster forms will reappear after a time.
* The [[Godzilla]] enemy Gabara from ''Godzilla's Revenge'' is based on an Oni and appears knobby, cat-like, and has a 3 pointed horn atop its head. Also, it [[Shock and Awe|channels lightning through its fists]].
* [[Yaiba|Onimaru and (briefly) Yaiba]] when they got possessed by Fujin and Raijin. The former grew more muscles and horns, while the latter becomes all spiky and [[Shock and Awe|electrified.]]
* Oni of various kinds appear in ''[[Muramasa: The Demon Blade]]''. One of Momohime's bosses is a huge, orange Great Oni, the boss of all the Oni.
Line 109:
* One of the teachers from ''[[Akazukin Chacha]]'' was a Yuki-onna.
* The Marvel comic series [[Blade]] had [[Our Vampires Are Different|a tribe of vampires that could turn themselves into ice shards and had mild control over weather alongside their normal vampire abilities]] called Yuki-Onna. of course some (if not all) of them were male.
* The [[Pokémon]] Froslass. You even meet one as a boss and its gallery of [[Human Popsicle|frozen]] victims in a [[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon|spinoff series]].
* Yukime of ''[[Hell Teacher Nube]]''. Notice a trend? Thing is, this particular Yuki-Onna is a [[Clingy Jealous Girl]] in a [[Love Triangle]] over Nube's affections, and is generally friendly and nice [[Beware the Nice Ones|unless you get on her bad side]].
* The Yuki-onna Effect in ''[[Yume Nikki]]''.
Line 116:
* One appears in the segment "The Blizzard" of [[Akira Kurosawa]]'s ''Dreams''.
* Sode no Shirayuki ("snow-white sleeve"), the spirit of Rukia Kuchiki's sword in ''[[Bleach]]'''s anime adaptation.
* Tsurara, the Yuki-onna from ''[[Nurarihyon no Mago]]''.
* The Yuki-onna appears in ''[[Muramasa: The Demon Blade]]''. They fly and, unlike popular images, they're quite buxom.
* ''[[Franken Fran]]'' has that chapter's patient end up living with one. She's the less-hostile variety.
Line 135:
* The boss in ''[[Dead or Alive]] 2'', and returns as a playable character in the fourth installment. His skin is dark black, with white facial hair, and a very long nose.
* Mr Karate disguises himself with a Tengu mask in [[Art of Fighting]] and a couple of [[King of Fighters]] cameo.
* Both Haruka and Sugino in ''[[Tactics]]'' are tengu - Haruka is known as the Oni-eating Tengu before he is named and bound by the protagonist. Sugino fights with the traditional feather fan that magically raises huge gusts of wind, while Haruka carries a monk's shakujou with a spiked base. It's also stated that while Haruka was born tengu, Sugino became a tengu through arrogance and hubris--a genuine folklore reference.
* Yotsuba meets {{spoiler|Jumbo}} dressed as a tengu boss during the [[Festival Episode|cart-pulling festival]] of ''[[Yotsubato]]!''. She's young enough to find it scary, even though she knows it's a mask.
* One episode of ''[[Samurai Champloo]]'' features a cult of fanatical sohei (warrior-priests) who disguise themselves as tengu to waylay travelers. In [[Real Life]], the legends of the tengu probably originated from sohei.
* One of these is a miniboss in ''[[MadWorld]]''. Or at least, a guy dressed like one. He uses ninjutsu, and appears in stages and stage segments with ninja.
* [[Zeno Clash|Father-Mother]] appears to be inspired by this, if not explicitly based on them. He/She sports the phallic nose, and general crow theme.
* Kurama-hime from ''[[Urusei Yatsura]]'' is a [[Cute Monster Girl]] version of the Tengu (though she trades the long nose for little crow wings on her head and is thusly an avian [[Petting Zoo People]]). She's also served by more traditional Karasu Tengu (which are runty little humanoid crows).
* In the [[Shoujo]] manga ''[[Black Bird]]'' the male "romantic" lead is a tengu, as well as all his pretty-boy relatives. Other spirits also fight with him for the protagonist, because drinking her blood gives a spirit immortality and marrying her brings prosperity to his clan.
* Shiftry from ''[[Pokémon]]''. Oddly, this tengu does not have any real relation to crows, but it does have a large nose and giant fans for arms, which tengu were known to hold. It also has the long hair and wooden sandals characteristic of them.
* [[Digimon Frontier|Karatenmon]] from ''[[Digimon]]''.
* Joe Musashi fights a crow tengu [[Mini Boss]] in the first stage of Round 6 of ''[[Shinobi]] 3''.
* In Kekkaishi the main character helps the great tengu god to make an offspring.
* In ''[[Command
* In ''[[Nurarihyon no Mago]]'' there a big amount of them, being show not only as the big nosed old men, but also as humans with crow wings or small anthro crow creatures.
* Some fans have referred to Shishiwakamaru of ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'' as this.
Line 152:
* The Tengu from ''[[Guild Wars]]'' are native both to the European-style Tyria(where they are universally hostile) and to the Eastern-themed Cantha(where one clan is friendly). A branch family modeled after the quetzal bird can be found in the Tarnished Coast.
** The tengu clans have reunited in the sequel and formed a neutral nation of their own, the Dominion of Winds. Due to years of being treated as monsters and their recent forced exile from Cantha, the nation is understandably reluctant to make allies.
* ''[[xxxHolic]]'' features the “Kurasu<ref>That's “class” in Japanese</ref> Tengu,” who look like yakuza children on flying skateboards.
* ''[[Achaea]]'' has wild Tengu in one of the forests. They appear as winged black kittens, and are about as cute as you'd expect flying kittens to be.
* ''[[Bleach]]'' has Love's zanpakuto modeled after a Tengu's nose, being [[BFS|absurdly large]] and being named [[Meaningful Name|Tengumaru]].<ref>-maru is a common ending for a Japanese male name.</ref>
Line 182:
* ''[[YU+ME: dream]]'' contains "a giant elephant-ram-boar-bear thing with purple hair" called a baku. It does live in the dream world, and attempts to eat the main characters' party.
* Tapir, the wizard from ''[[Cocoron]]'', eventually turns out to be a baku who you have to fight in the game's final battle.
* ''[[Dark Cloud|Dark Cloud 2 / Dark Chronicle]]'' features a mini-boss in Starlight Canyon called the Memo-Eater, an obese monster with a tapir's nose that possesses a girl and [[Laser-Guided Amnesia|eats her memories]].
* In ''[[Naruto]]'' a Baku appears {{spoiler|as Danzou's summoning}} and looks like a huge, tuskless fierce elephant, able to suck anything in his trunk.
* The baku from ''[[Hell Teacher Nube]]'' instead of being a benign creature that ate nightmares, ate ''good'' dreams and left its victims in a state of utter, suicide-inducing despair. It was actually composed of hundreds of tortured souls who moaned and writhed in the vague shape of the tapir.
Line 198:
* Among the first enemies Sir Arthur faces in ''[[Ghosts 'n Goblins (series)|Ghouls 'n Ghosts]]'' are kamaitachi, depicted as small floating creatures with scythes that turn into tornados.
* Sneasel and Weavile from ''[[Pokémon]]'' are kamaitachi.
** [[Pokémon Black and White|Mienshao]] also resembles one, except without the blades.
* In ''[[La-Mulana]]'', Kamaitachi first shows up as a [[Mini Boss]] in the Graveyard of the Giants, and reappears in Hell Temple.
* The tenth movie of ''[[One Piece]]'' feature, among the other creatures under Shiki's rule, the Tsujigiri Itachi (killer weasel) and they actually wield small scythes with blades made from a Kenju (sword-tree) leaf.
Line 238:
----
'''Rokurokubi and Nukekubi''': These two creatures are [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|Humanoid]] monsters, the Rokurokubi are human by day but have extremely elastic necks during the night, while nukekubi can detach their heads from their necks and float away in search of human flesh.
Line 309:
== Inugami and Okami Examples ==
* Inuyasha of ''[[Inuyasha]]'' is a half dog-youkai Inu Yasha's father, stepmother, and half - brother Sesshoumaru are full Inugami.
** ''[[Inuyasha]]'' also has a tribe of wolf youkai under the leadership of Kouga.
* Kotaro Inugami in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' is half dog-youkai shapeshifter partly based on [[Inuyasha]]. His default form has [[Little Bit Beastly|dog ears and tails]], however he can also take on a [[Beast Folk]] form, a dog form and [[Big Badass Wolf]] form.
Line 316:
* Amaterasu from ''[[Okami]]''
* ''[[wikipedia:Inugami (manga)|Inugami (manga)]]'' is a manga series by Masaya Hokazono about a boy who finds an inugami. His appearances are those of a extinct Japanese wolf, but he can grow spikes from his back to fight
* ''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0277044/plotsummary Inugami (film)]'' is a Japanese film about a Akira, a teacher that falls for a Miki, a papermaker. Miki's family is said to be under the curse of the Inugami.
* ''[[Inukami!]]'' is a Japanese light novel series written by Mamizu Arisawa. Instead of the term "inugami" which is mostly associated with malevolent dog spirits, it uses the word "inukami" to describe a type of benevolent dog spirit. ''Inukami!'' revolves around Keita Kawahira, a descendant of a Inukami-tamer clan and a inukami named Yōko, {{spoiler|who later is revealed to be actually a kitsune}}.
* Sadaharu from ''Gintama'' is implied to be one. Considering that he's a bull-sized white chihuahua with the strength of a bear and his former owners were a couple of miko this is plausible.
* On ''[[Natsume Yuujinchou]]'', Madara/Nyanko-sensei's larger youkai form.
* Yuzuriha Nekoi (surname is [[Wrong Genre Savvy|deliberately]] misleading) in ''[[X 1999]]'' has a dog spirit Inuki protecting her.
* Kuchiha from ''[[Amatsuki]]'' is possessed by a wolf-like inugami, rumoured to be the last of her kind.
* Inugami appear in ''[[Shin Megami Tensei]]'' games. Sometimes they can even grow into Makami, their more powerful counterparts.
Line 343:
== Youkai Examples ==
* ''[[Amatsuki]]'' features many various different kinds of youkai, known here as "ayakashi", including spirits, and ghosts. In fact, about half the main cast are ayakashi.
* ''Demon's World'', an obscure arcade game also known as ''Horror Story'', features many enemies from various mythologies, and in the Japan-esque stage you get to fight kappa, karakasa, rokurokubi, and other youkai.
* ''[[Digimon]]'', like ''[[Pokémon]]'', has many youkai-based creatures.
Line 351:
* ''[[GeGeGe no Kitaro]]'' is all about youkai. Kitaro himself is a youkai.
* ''[[Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure|Gurumin a Monstrous Adventure]]'' has [[Woolseyism|Monsters]] as friendly NPCs.
* ''[[Hakaba Kitaro]]''
* ''[[Hell Girl]]'' also features a Hone-onna, or "Bone Woman". A type of vampiric creature which disguises itself as a beautiful mortal woman to lure men away to feed upon their life force.
* ''[[Harukanaru Toki no Naka de]]'' has these creatures among its mook-type villains (somewhat confusingly, they fall under the collective term ''onryou'', "vengeful spirits", which normally refers to ghosts). In the manga/anime adaptations, some of these get more prominent roles, like the last Nue and the Tengu of the Northern Mountains, but otherwise the youkai-like monsters in general are of little importance to the plot.
* ''[[Hell Teacher Nube]]''. Between these and [[Obake]], it's practically the whole point. If they're not listed among the specific examples above, it's because they're [[Monster of the Week|minor characters]], but trust us, these (and more) show up.
Line 363:
* ''[[Kanokon]]'': Nozomu Ezomori is a 200-year-old wolf spirit, both trying to seduce the protagonist, Kouta Oyamada. In fact, nearly everyone except him are Obake of some sort (sisters, brothers, etc to Chizuru and Nozomu. Many don't show up in the anime, though).
* ''[[Kanon]]'': {{spoiler|Makoto is a kitsune who lost her memory in exchange for the ability to transform. It came with a hefty price.}}
* ''[[Karas]]'' (which itself is named for the Karasu Tengu) has youkai in a prominent role, and it depicts tensions between the youkai and the humans who have forgotten them.
* ''[[KiKi KaiKai]]'', a series of [[Cute'Em Up]] games also known as ''Pocky & Rocky'', includes several kinds of ''obake'' as enemies. (Also, the main player character is a [[Miko]].)
* ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' (''Kamigawa'' block, which was heavily inspired by Japanese mythology)
Line 372:
* ''[[Naruto]]'', which features several youkai-themed demon-beasts. The first [[Big Bad]] Orochimaru is also shown to be capable of stretching his neck out to great lengths, not unlike a rokurokubi.
* ''[[Natsume Yuujinchou]]''
* ''[[Ninja Sentai Kakuranger]]'': The enemies are ALL Youkai.
** What makes this a particularly amusing example is that nearly all of the youkai have adapted in some way to the modern world. For example, there's a Nurikabe covered in graffiti, a Sand Woman dressed like a hooker, a chariot youkai who's now a taxicab and a gluttony spirit dressed like a fast-food jockey.
* ''[[Nurarihyon no Mago]]'' is based on a mafia-like family of Youkai that live in the present era, in an ordinary city, keeping it safe from other families/groups seeking power.
* [http://www.obakemono.com The Obakemono Project]
* ''[[Okami]]''
* ''[[Omamori Himari]]'' features several other Youkai in addition to the aforementioned, including an water serpent in a leading role, a Shutendoji and many others in minor parts. Most of the major ones are [[Cute Monster Girl|Cute Monster Girls]].
* ''Petopeto-san'': Most of the cast are youkai of one kind or another, if not [[Half-Human Hybrid|Half Human Hybrids]].
* ''[[Pokémon]]'' has a lot of creatures based on youkai. An example is Mawile, who is based on the futakuchi-onna, a woman with a monstrous, voracious mouth growing out of the back of her head and hair that functions like tentacles.
Line 395:
* ''[[Throne of Darkness]]'', a Diablo-like [[Hack and Slash]] uses nearly ''only'' monsters of these origins.
* ''[[Touhou Project]]'': Almost every known character, apart from the four[[Half-Human Hybrid|-and-a-half]] human protagonists and a handful of goddesses, is some form of youkai.
* ''[[Urusei Yatsura]]'', which, despite the nominal sci-fi setting, features many youkai both as [[Ancient Astronauts]] and as actual monsters.
* ''[[Usagi Yojimbo]]'' has featured nearly every monster from Japanese tradition, from Oni to Kappas to Nues ([[Mix-and-Match Critters|chimera-like]] beasts) and an Obakeneko (vampire cat).
* ''[[Wagaya no Oinari-sama.]]'' has spirits like these, including an entire arc with oni.
| |||