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Shiki-door

Shikigami removing Gen's damaged door

Shikigami (式身), commonly referred to as Shiki for short, are paper dolls that follow the commands of their creator.[1] They are commonly used as clones, messengers, and workers, especially by Kekkaishi, but other ability users have been known to use them as well.

Shikigami Forms

Paper

Shiki-paper

Unactivated Shikigami usually appear as simple slips of paper with an identifying mark of the creator on them.[1] In the case of Kekkaishi, the Houin Mark appears on their paper and basic paper dolls. A Shikigami is activated once its creator applies a certain amount of power to its paper and provides a desired shape. It is possible (but rare) to create a Shikigami without an identifying mark (or at least a design that provides little or no clue as to the creator).[2] A Shikigami returns to its paper form if one or more of the following conditions is met: 1) the Shikigami's intended purpose is accomplished, 2) the Shikigami uses up its allotted power, 3) the Shikigami takes too much damage or is destroyed (in which case a portion of its paper will be damaged[3]), 4) the Shikigami is captured, and either cuts off its own power to avoid questioning, or reverts to paper form on command.[2]

Shiki2

Yoshimori's paper dolls

Paper Dolls

The simplest form of a Shikigami is that of a featureless, humanoid doll. Their main purpose is manual labor, and in large enough numbers, they can accomplish a great deal of work in a short period (overnight in the case of Kekkaishi). The paper doll's overall size and shape seems to indicate the user's experience level: the more advanced the user, the more human the doll appears.

ShikiY

Tokine's bird

Birds

Shikigami birds are used both for delivering messages and for overhead observation. Among Kekkaishi, merely seeing a bird Shikigami is usually enough to identify the sender.

Clones

Shiki-clone

Yoshimori's lazy clone

The preference of most ability users are Shikigami clones, which either take the shape of the creator or other people. Most clones are simply temporary distractions with no more power than is necessary,[3] but advanced clones can be capable of entering combat and using some, if not all of their creator's techniques. Some of them just stay as white figures, but others can appear to look exactly like their creator.




Known Shikigami Users & Skill Levels

Notable Shikigami

Most Shikigami are intended for temporary use only, and are therefore given just enough power to accomplish their assigned task and dispel, making them fairly vulnerable overall and largely unsuited for extended use. However, Kekkaishi provide notable exceptions throughout the series.

Yoshimori's Handsome Shikigami (Latin Version: Young Noble Style)

Hs1

Ironically, Yoshimori invents his most powerful Shikigami for the sole purpose of buying a rare cake. Partially frustrated by previous flawed attempts (one resulting in a chubby clone, which Yoshimori felt reflected badly on himself), Yoshimori desired a clone that was more graceful and elegant. The end result was a Shikigami that more closely resembled a young Latin noble. Despite his flamboyant appearance, this Shikigami was both very durable (it survived a beating from three local thugs) and quite strong (it effortlessly takes out the thugs with a single attack). In addition, Yoshimori unintentionally invested so much power into the Shikigami's creation that, combined with his usual Kekkaishi duties, the strain was enough to make him collapse.[4]
Special Skill: Tornado of Passion: A rapidly spinning roundhouse kick of extreme power.

Tokiko's Clone Shikigami

Masamori's Clone Shikigami

Sumiko's Clone Shikigami

Shigemori's Clone Shikigami

In order to cover for Masamori and Yoshimori when they missed school due to Kekkaishi-related issues, Shigemori sent Shikigami clones of his grandsons to attend their classes instead. However, many of Shigemori's clones share his facial features, and while these did not, they still possessed so much of his personality that they earned his grandsons embarrassing nicknames ("Senior" and "Old Man Mura").[5]

References



  1. 1.0 1.1 Kekkaishi anime, Episode 2
  2. 2.0 2.1 Kekkaishi anime, Episode 15
  3. 3.0 3.1 Kekkaishi anime, Episode 21
  4. Kekkaishi manga, Chapter 7, pages 7-17
  5. Kekkaishi manga, Chapter 344, page 7
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