Shadow Skill (2000)

影技 SHADOW SKILL

Manga11 volumesFinished

ActionAdventureFantasyMartial ArtsSeinen

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About this title

Synopsis

No synopsis available.

Published

Feb 10, 2000 to Mar 24, 2014

Authors

Okada, Megumu

External links

MyAnimeList page Wikipedia

MAL rank: #30585
Members (MAL): 233
Favorites (MAL): 1

Related titles

Prequel

Shadow Skill: Phantom of Shade

Main characters

Elle Ragu59 fan favorites
External profile
Elle Ragu is the 59th Sevalle of Kuruda, a warrior kingdom with a history stretching back over 2,000 years. Though she is not the only female Sevalle in history – a title roughly equivalent to a "high warrior", as an ordinary warrior is known as a Valle – she does hold the distinction of being the youngest female ever to be awarded the title of Sevalle, at age 14, 3 years prior to the start of the series. Her fighting nickname, "Shadow Skill", is also the name of her martial arts style, which Elle is a master of. Kuruda-style Kōsappō (交殺法, lit. "combining kill methods", translated by ADV as "Annihilation techniques") has two general divisions: Hyōgi (炯技, "open skills" or "bright skills"), which emphasize punches and throws, and Eigi (影技, "shadow skills"), which focus on kicks and the user's footwork. In the Shadow Skill OAV, it was revealed that the Kuruda style arose centuries ago from the combat skills developed by slaves, who were often forced to fight for their lives in gladiatorial arenas. Open skills were developed by the male gladiators, focusing on their upper body strength, while Shadow skills were created by the women. Targets of scorn and rape, women's hands were often bound or otherwise denied them the use of, and so they were forced to learn to utilize their legs and smaller, lither bodies to their fullest extents in order to survive. For this reason, Shadow skills gained a more fearsome yet respected reputation than its counterpart. The color of Elle's hair is considered to be somewhat in question. In the OAV, her hair was shown as being two colors, blonde on top, but with the hair of her braid and the back of her head a different color (bright red in the movie, a darker shade of blonde in the OAV). In the anime, her hair was a uniform orange color, and can be interpreted as being either a redhead or a strawberry-blonde. Elle continues to train in the Shadow Skill style, along with her adopted younger brother, Gau Ban. Gau's parents and village had been killed by bandits; when Elle met him when he was 10, he had been spending the last year training himself and fighting against those same bandits to avenge his parents. Elle decides to take the boy in, although both of them later admitted to somewhat selfish reasons for originally doing so. Gau had wanted to use Elle in order to become strong, and Elle had wanted to see how strong a person who was raised by her can become. Elle also has an older brother, Diaz Ragu. A blacksmith and a Valle of Kuruda, Diaz' nickname was the "Black Wing", for the blackened-steel boomerangs that were his creation and trademark weapon. His skill was such that many people believed he would someday rise to become a Sevalel, including several other Sevalles themselves. In fact, becoming a Sevalle was his dream. Elle and Diaz' parents both died from a rampaging disease when Elle was still young, and she too contracted the same illness. Diaz immediately set out on many dangerous missions in order to raise the money needed for his sister's medicine. Elle was saved, but Diaz' body was severely weakened by his ordeal, to the point that he had to give up on being a warrior, instead devoting himself to crafting his Black Wing boomerangs. Elle continues to feel guilt for this fact to this day, believing it should have been him to win this title, and not her. Though Elle is a fighter first and foremost, and so has difficulty opening up to other people except through battle, this is especially true of her older brother. Elle also has a reputation as both a heavy drinker and a brawler, often acting without considering the consequences. A running joke throughout the series is how deeply in debt she is, and how any windfalls of money she might come into, always immediately go into either paying off the damages to her surroundings, or else into debts accumulated for the same reason. Partway into the series, she gains a job as a waitress and singer at the Green Octopus Inn to help pay off her remaining debts. Another aspect of Elle's character is that she will not hesitate to challenge someone, or to accept a challenge toward her. She has gone through many battles, and so made a lot of both rivals and enemies. Because of this, there are many rumors throughout Kuruda and beyond about her, ranging from highly confidential ones about her battle with the Kishulanna swordsman Zel Zakulet, to rumors such as the one Kaila Lu Luka said about the 59th Sevalle having a brain that is all muscles. As Sevalle, Elle has met many enemies who would not hesitate to kill her. She was once a mortal enemy to Faurink Maya the Plasmatizer and her Sui Rem clan. The northern city of Kishulanna, too, does not hold her in the highest of regards, as it is said that Zel Zakulet died during his duel with Elle. (While this is indeed true, Elle is not directly to blame for his death. She did, however, appeal to his warrior's spirit to continue fighting until the very end, which resulted in his death.) Others consider her an enemy for being the latest (and least-experienced) Sevalle, and so consider her an easier target compared to other Sevalle such as Crimson and Scarface. Many think that by challenging her, they would have a better chance of claiming the title of Sevalle from her. She is also often criticized for "wasting her time" by training Gau, rather than improving her own skills, though of course Elle ignores all this. (Source: Wikipedia)
Gau Ban18 fan favorites
External profile
Gau Ban's origins differ slightly between the OAV and anime. In the anime, bandits attacked him home village when he was nine years old, slaughtering everyone, including Gau's parents. Over the next year, Gau exercised guerrilla-style attacks against the bandits for revenge. He eventually encounters Elle on the road by chance. In the OAV, Gau is ten when the attack occurs. Seeing his parents murdered in front of him, Gau snaps and attacks the bandits. He kills most of them, but then his luck runs out. Elle shows up before he himself is killed, and finishes off the remaining bandits. Since Gau is the only survivor of his village, Elle asked him, "Do you want to be strong?" and takes him with her when he answers yes. Originally, Gau only intended to follow Elle in order to steal all her money and discover the source of her powers. After some time, however, Gau came to care for Elle like an older sister. Over the years, Gau has trained side by side with Elle in an effort to become strong. With his dedication and signs of promise, he quickly catches the attention of the 57th Sevalle, Scarface, who decides to help Gau improve, albeit only indirectly. Many incidents that Gau encounters are in some way or another engineered by Scarface, for the purpose of driving him to improve and become stronger. He also catches the love-interest of Kyuo Lyu, however Gau is completely oblivious to her intentions. In an ironic turn of events, Scrib Lowengren, King Iba Sutra's apprentice in Open Skills and effectively Gau's counterpart in the race to become the next Sevalle, falls in love with Kyuo at first sight. A love triangle instantly develops, and so both Lowe and Gau become rivals in more ways than one. The two of them battle each other several times, Gau eventually coming out the overall victor. In respect, Lowe gives Gau his earrings, which Gau wears during his most important battles. During Solfan's initial invasion into Ashlianna, Gau is assigned by Scarface to protect Diaz Ragu, Gau's adopted older brother via Elle, and who Gau already considers to be a older brother figure to him. While this decision is tactically sound, Scarface is also testing Gau so that he will become stronger; Solfan itself desires to use the town of Blorahan, where Diaz lives, as a staging point, as well as Diaz' skills as a weapons crafter. During what later becomes known as the Lightning Battle, Gau is given the Black Wing boomerang by Diaz to use, and so creates the nickname for himself, "Black Howling". During the other fights that come, Gau successfully defeats every opponent that came his way, including G, the insane former 58th Sevalle who had betrayed Kuruda and later sides with the Solfan forces. When he is forced to fight the non-human being Darkness, another test by Scarface, Gau is led very nearly to death, his neck slashed open. The test fails, however, as Gau is paralyzed by his fear of death, and Diaz Ragu intervenes on his behalf. Gau eventually defeats Darkness in the end, mastering the Shadow Gate Genesis technique Cannon in the process, but Diaz dies moments later, his 's failing health body finally succumbing to his illness. Wracked with grief and self-loathing over this, Gau slides into a deep depression, eventually coming out of it only with Elle's help. During Solfan and Ren Fuuma's assault on Kuruda, Gau trieds to fight him but is quickly overwhelmed by Ren's ferocity. During this time, imminently faced with death, Gau finally realizes what Darkness had been trying to teach him during their battle: that man's true strength comes from the purity of a heart unburdened by doubts, like a beast's. Armed with this newfound understanding, Gau overcomes Ren's attacks with ease, and defeats him. Recently in the manga, it has been revealed that Scarface is Gau's older biological brother. Their father's name is Shere Kahn, the founder of Kuruda-style Kōsappō Yin-ryū, Ren Fuuma's superior, and the one who masterminded the attempted destruction of Ashlianna. Who Gau had thought were his parent were merely the people he had been entrusted to. (Source: Wikipedia)