Subaru Sumeragi
Encyclopedia
is a fictional character
created by Clamp
. He is the protagonist of Tokyo Babylon
and one of the Dragons of Heaven in X
.
An alternate version of the character appears in Clamp's crossover
series, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
.
on 19 February 1974, the younger of a pair of fraternal twins, his older twin being a girl named Hokuto. Their parents (who are never seen) were members of the Sumeragi, a clan of onmyōji
who have served Japan and its emperors
for hundreds of years.
Subaru was trained from an early age to become the 13th head of the Sumeragi clan, replacing his grandmother. At the age of nine, he was separated from his sister Hokuto for a year of intensive training in Tokyo
. On the day he ascended to the head of the clan, Subaru encountered a strange young man under a cherry tree
. The meeting would subsequently be expunged from his memory.
Subaru's grandmother ordered him to wear gloves from that day onwards, and never to allow anyone else to see his hands. The old onmyoji cast a spell that would repel any attempts by others to remove them. Subaru never removed his gloves, and was known to wear them even when sleeping.
tose people to bring them back to the world, and fighting those who abused spiritual powers, he would often also stand up to bullies and provide comfort and friendship to their victims.
Subaru lives in an apartment in Tokyo, in the same building as his sister Hokuto, whose personality had become the polar opposite to his own—eccentric and outgoing. Hokuto is vexed by her brother's selflessness, encouraging him to think of himself once in a while, rather than placing the good of others above himself. Although she encourages him to be cheerful and polite, she also criticizes his excessive deference to others, including his habit of bowing to people on the phone "like a salaryman
". Subaru wears effeminate costumes designed by his sister, her own outfits being even more outlandish.
Subaru and Hokuto are good friends with a kindly and magically-aware veterinarian
named Seishirō Sakurazuka
, who they met at a railway station after Subaru's shikigami
led him on a bizarre chase. Seishirō acts as guardian to both and claims to love Subaru romantically. Subaru is frequently embarrassed by these claims, as well as Hokuto's gleeful attempts to bring the two together, but gradually grows to accept the older man's apparent love.
During Tokyo Babylon, Subaru has dreams of the day he became the head of the Sumeragi clan: he recalls the strange meeting beneath a cherry tree unseasonably in bloom, with a young man who told him the Japanese folk tale that every cherry tree has a corpse buried beneath it, whose blood dyes the white blossoms pink. When the 9-year-old Subaru asked if the buried people were in pain, the young man, initially confused but becoming oddly amused, made a bet with him, the only words of which he heard were: "If ever we meet again..." and "...but today... I will let you go." Recalling this dream, Subaru begins to wonder if the sinister young man is actually Seishirō, despite the different personality shown between the two. He also ponders Hokuto's suggestions that Seishirō's surname links him to the Sakurazukamori, a ruthless magical assassin clan, but dismisses it due to Seishirō's kind nature.
After Seishirō loses the sight in his right eye protecting Subaru, the onmyoji realizes he loves the man. Unfortunately for Subaru, Seishirō reveals that he is indeed the Sakurazukamori, raised to be incapable of either love or hate. Lifting the veil he had placed on the boy's memory, Seishirō states the nature of the bet he had made: that if they met again, he would live with the boy for a year to see if his heart could be moved. However, the assassin claims he was as barren of emotion as ever, and attempts to kill Subaru, only for the boy's grandmother to rescue him at great personal cost. Subaru becomes catatonic
as a result, but recovers when, telepathically, he senses Hokuto's self-sacrifice to the Sakurazukamori.
Subaru decides at this point to drop out of school so that he can focus on training. He continues his work as an onmyōji, remaining compassionate to others but acting more reserved; he also takes up smoking
, like Seishirō before him.
, Subaru is his twenties, continuing his work as an onmyōji under direction from his grandmother. Although he is recognized to be one of the Dragons of Heaven, and thus capable of creating a kekkai (spiritual barrier) - star-shaped in his case - to protect others during his battles, he has no interest in the fate of humanity; his only concern is to settle his score with Seishirō. However, with persuasion from Sorata Arisugawa and Arashi Kishū, he joins the other members of the group in Tokyo. One of his first acts is to bring Kamui Shirō out of the catatonia into which he had fallen after seeing his childhood sweetheart, Kotori Monō, killed by her brother Fūma. Subaru and Kamui develop a close friendship based on their similar hardships, with Subaru acting as a mentor to Kamui during his further trials. Series creators Clamp, jokingly, refer to Kamui and Subaru's relationship as "sisterly".
Subaru faces Seishirō several times, but each time, though defeated, is allowed to live; he begin to imagine that the assassin does not consider him "worth" killing. When Subaru faces Fūma in battle, he sees the younger man as Seishirō, and allows the Dragon of Earth to blind him in his right eye—a lesser wish Subaru had held for some time. However, in single combat against Seishirō at Rainbow Bridge
, Subaru reveals his true desire: he no longer wished to kill Seishirō (having tried unsuccessfully to eradicate his feelings for the man), but instead wished to be killed by him, as thus he would exist in Seishirō's heart, even if it was only as "another victim of the cherry blossom". However, due to a spell cast by Hokuto at her death, the killing strike (a "spearhand" stab through the heart) is reversed, and Subaru kills Seishirō instead. The assassin's last words to Subaru—which are not fully stated to the audience—have a profound effect on the young man, being something he had not expected.
From this point, the manga and TV series differ. In the manga, following Seishirō's death, 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 erase the mark another man had left on him. As such, Fuma gave Subaru Seishirō's eye, which he states was the only thing of his he could find at Rainbow Bridge, to replace the one the young man lost. This act completes this ritual and, after regaining his full sight, Subaru becomes the Sakurazukamori and one of the Dragons of Earth. Since he has lost the one person he wished to protect, he is rendered unable to create a kekkai any longer. His fate beyond this is unknown as the manga remains incomplete.
In the TV series, his status as Sakurazukamori is not directly alluded to. Instead, Subaru sinks back into a catatonic state, urging Kamui to look to his own wish and advising him that "it is impossible for everyone to be happy". He is, as in the manga, unable to create a kekkai, having lost the one person in the world for whom he truly cared. However, in the final episode, the rebellious Dragon of Earth dreamseer Kakyō Kuzuki allows the spirit of Hokuto to cross into Subaru's mind, to convince him to continue the fight; Subaru realizes he cares for Kamui, and joins his final battle against Fūma, protecting him from a fatal strike. Before his apparent death, Subaru urges Kamui to realize his wish. Thus, Kamui sacrifices himself to bring Fūma back to his original, kind-hearted personality and save humanity from destruction; as a side effect, Subaru is revived and lives on.
Subaru appears briefly in the movie version of X/1999; he and Seishirō destroy each other in magical combat early in the film.
for a dōjinshi
novel about an onmyōji who hunts elves, of which only the beginning exists. The characters were twice drawn for covers, and when South asked Clamp
to create a new series for them, these characters were used. Originally, the twins were conceived more as mascots.
Subaru and Seishirō appear in X
because their relationship parallels Kamui and Fuuma's. They serve as an example to Kamui and Fuuma: One of X's most important developments is the question what these two will do so they won't end up like Subaru and Seishirō.
, Subaru reappears as one of a pair of twin vampires (the other being Kamui Shirō) for whom Seishirō Sakurazuka
is searching. A correlation is also shown in Subaru's relationship with Seishiro, for he seems worried about him when he asks Fuuma how he is doing in the Tokyo arc. Also, though Kamui appears to have an intense hatred for Seishiro, Subaru is much more lax about their situation of being chased and seems to silently disagree with his twin.
He makes his first appearance in the Tokyo arc, in which he talks to a comatose Sakura and urges her to wake up before she is lost to her dreams. It turns out that he himself was left in a comatose state at the bottom of a large water reservoir, leading to Kamui's fierce protection of the site, particularly from Fuuma. Eventually he wakes and is at last rejoined with his twin.
referred to his confrontation with Seishirō in the TV series was praised mainly because how their character designs were updated from the ones from Tokyo Babylon. Mania Entertainment's Chris Beveridge found Subaru's introduction in X as one of his favorite episodes from the volume he reviewed due to the portrayal of the character's state ever since Hokuto's death. He also agreed with Bertschy, calling the episode of their final battle one of the best ones from the series focused on how their backgrounds are shown and tragic elements portrayed.
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
created by Clamp
Clamp (manga artists)
, is an all-female Japanese manga artist group that formed in the mid 1980s. Many of the group's manga series are often adapted into anime after release. It consists of their leader , who provides much of the storyline and screenplay for all their works and adaptations of those works respectively ,...
. He is the protagonist of Tokyo Babylon
Tokyo Babylon
is a manga series created by Clamp. The series follows Subaru Sumeragi, the head of the Sumeragi clan, and his sister Hokuto as they work to protect Tokyo from a myriad of supernatural perils....
and one of the Dragons of Heaven in X
X (manga)
, also known as X/1999, is a Japanese shōjo manga series created by Clamp, a creative team made up by Satsuki Igarashi, Nanase Ohkawa, Tsubaki Nekoi, and Mokona. It premiered in Monthly Asukas May 1992 issue and ran there until the magazine's editors showed concern with the increasingly violent...
.
An alternate version of the character appears in Clamp's crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
series, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
is a shōnen manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. It takes place in the same fictional universe as many of Clamp's other manga series, most notably xxxHolic. The plot follows how Sakura, the princess of the Kingdom of Clow, loses her soul and how Syaoran, a young...
.
Early life
Subaru was born in KyotoKyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
on 19 February 1974, the younger of a pair of fraternal twins, his older twin being a girl named Hokuto. Their parents (who are never seen) were members of the Sumeragi, a clan of onmyōji
Onmyodo
is a traditional Japanese esoteric cosmology, a mixture of natural science and occultism. It is based on the Chinese philosophies of Wu Xing and Yin and yang, introduced into Japan at the turn of the 6th century, and accepted as a practical system of divination...
who have served Japan and its emperors
Emperor of Japan
The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...
for hundreds of years.
Subaru was trained from an early age to become the 13th head of the Sumeragi clan, replacing his grandmother. At the age of nine, he was separated from his sister Hokuto for a year of intensive training in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. On the day he ascended to the head of the clan, Subaru encountered a strange young man under a cherry tree
Sakura
A cherry blossom is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is sometimes called sakura after the Japanese . Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit...
. The meeting would subsequently be expunged from his memory.
Subaru's grandmother ordered him to wear gloves from that day onwards, and never to allow anyone else to see his hands. The old onmyoji cast a spell that would repel any attempts by others to remove them. Subaru never removed his gloves, and was known to wear them even when sleeping.
Tokyo Babylon
By 1991, Subaru had grown into a cheerful yet bashful teenager, utterly devoted to helping others—both in his capacity as Japan's most powerful onmyōji and in "normal" life. As well as exorcizing demons, helping lost souls ascend to the afterlife, entering the minds of comaComa
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
tose people to bring them back to the world, and fighting those who abused spiritual powers, he would often also stand up to bullies and provide comfort and friendship to their victims.
Subaru lives in an apartment in Tokyo, in the same building as his sister Hokuto, whose personality had become the polar opposite to his own—eccentric and outgoing. Hokuto is vexed by her brother's selflessness, encouraging him to think of himself once in a while, rather than placing the good of others above himself. Although she encourages him to be cheerful and polite, she also criticizes his excessive deference to others, including his habit of bowing to people on the phone "like a salaryman
Salaryman
refers to someone whose income is salary based; particularly those working for corporations. Its frequent use by Japanese corporations, and its prevalence in Japanese manga and anime has gradually led to its acceptance in English-speaking countries as a noun for a Japanese white-collar...
". Subaru wears effeminate costumes designed by his sister, her own outfits being even more outlandish.
Subaru and Hokuto are good friends with a kindly and magically-aware veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
named Seishirō Sakurazuka
Seishiro Sakurazuka
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...
, who they met at a railway station after Subaru's shikigami
Shikigami
Shikigami are a kind of spirit, found in Japanese Mythology summoned to serve a practitioner of onmyōdō, much like a western familiar. Shikigami cannot be seen by most people, but according to the Heian period onmyōji who were said to control them, shikigami often looked something like a...
led him on a bizarre chase. Seishirō acts as guardian to both and claims to love Subaru romantically. Subaru is frequently embarrassed by these claims, as well as Hokuto's gleeful attempts to bring the two together, but gradually grows to accept the older man's apparent love.
During Tokyo Babylon, Subaru has dreams of the day he became the head of the Sumeragi clan: he recalls the strange meeting beneath a cherry tree unseasonably in bloom, with a young man who told him the Japanese folk tale that every cherry tree has a corpse buried beneath it, whose blood dyes the white blossoms pink. When the 9-year-old Subaru asked if the buried people were in pain, the young man, initially confused but becoming oddly amused, made a bet with him, the only words of which he heard were: "If ever we meet again..." and "...but today... I will let you go." Recalling this dream, Subaru begins to wonder if the sinister young man is actually Seishirō, despite the different personality shown between the two. He also ponders Hokuto's suggestions that Seishirō's surname links him to the Sakurazukamori, a ruthless magical assassin clan, but dismisses it due to Seishirō's kind nature.
After Seishirō loses the sight in his right eye protecting Subaru, the onmyoji realizes he loves the man. Unfortunately for Subaru, Seishirō reveals that he is indeed the Sakurazukamori, raised to be incapable of either love or hate. Lifting the veil he had placed on the boy's memory, Seishirō states the nature of the bet he had made: that if they met again, he would live with the boy for a year to see if his heart could be moved. However, the assassin claims he was as barren of emotion as ever, and attempts to kill Subaru, only for the boy's grandmother to rescue him at great personal cost. Subaru becomes catatonic
Catatonia
Catatonia is a state of neurogenic motor immobility, and behavioral abnormality manifested by stupor. It was first described in 1874: Die Katatonie oder das Spannungsirresein ....
as a result, but recovers when, telepathically, he senses Hokuto's self-sacrifice to the Sakurazukamori.
Subaru decides at this point to drop out of school so that he can focus on training. He continues his work as an onmyōji, remaining compassionate to others but acting more reserved; he also takes up smoking
Smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance, most commonly tobacco or cannabis, is burned and the smoke is tasted or inhaled. This is primarily practised as a route of administration for recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them...
, like Seishirō before him.
X/1999
By the time of X/1999X (manga)
, also known as X/1999, is a Japanese shōjo manga series created by Clamp, a creative team made up by Satsuki Igarashi, Nanase Ohkawa, Tsubaki Nekoi, and Mokona. It premiered in Monthly Asukas May 1992 issue and ran there until the magazine's editors showed concern with the increasingly violent...
, Subaru is his twenties, continuing his work as an onmyōji under direction from his grandmother. Although he is recognized to be one of the Dragons of Heaven, and thus capable of creating a kekkai (spiritual barrier) - star-shaped in his case - to protect others during his battles, he has no interest in the fate of humanity; his only concern is to settle his score with Seishirō. However, with persuasion from Sorata Arisugawa and Arashi Kishū, he joins the other members of the group in Tokyo. One of his first acts is to bring Kamui Shirō out of the catatonia into which he had fallen after seeing his childhood sweetheart, Kotori Monō, killed by her brother Fūma. Subaru and Kamui develop a close friendship based on their similar hardships, with Subaru acting as a mentor to Kamui during his further trials. Series creators Clamp, jokingly, refer to Kamui and Subaru's relationship as "sisterly".
Subaru faces Seishirō several times, but each time, though defeated, is allowed to live; he begin to imagine that the assassin does not consider him "worth" killing. When Subaru faces Fūma in battle, he sees the younger man as Seishirō, and allows the Dragon of Earth to blind him in his right eye—a lesser wish Subaru had held for some time. However, in single combat against Seishirō at Rainbow Bridge
Rainbow Bridge (Tokyo)
The is a suspension bridge crossing northern Tokyo Bay between Shibaura Pier and the Odaiba waterfront development in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.Construction started in 1987 and was completed in 1993. The bridge is long with a main span of . Officially called the "Shuto Expressway No...
, Subaru reveals his true desire: he no longer wished to kill Seishirō (having tried unsuccessfully to eradicate his feelings for the man), but instead wished to be killed by him, as thus he would exist in Seishirō's heart, even if it was only as "another victim of the cherry blossom". However, due to a spell cast by Hokuto at her death, the killing strike (a "spearhand" stab through the heart) is reversed, and Subaru kills Seishirō instead. The assassin's last words to Subaru—which are not fully stated to the audience—have a profound effect on the young man, being something he had not expected.
From this point, the manga and TV series differ. In the manga, following Seishirō's death, 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 erase the mark another man had left on him. As such, Fuma gave Subaru Seishirō's eye, which he states was the only thing of his he could find at Rainbow Bridge, to replace the one the young man lost. This act completes this ritual and, after regaining his full sight, Subaru becomes the Sakurazukamori and one of the Dragons of Earth. Since he has lost the one person he wished to protect, he is rendered unable to create a kekkai any longer. His fate beyond this is unknown as the manga remains incomplete.
In the TV series, his status as Sakurazukamori is not directly alluded to. Instead, Subaru sinks back into a catatonic state, urging Kamui to look to his own wish and advising him that "it is impossible for everyone to be happy". He is, as in the manga, unable to create a kekkai, having lost the one person in the world for whom he truly cared. However, in the final episode, the rebellious Dragon of Earth dreamseer Kakyō Kuzuki allows the spirit of Hokuto to cross into Subaru's mind, to convince him to continue the fight; Subaru realizes he cares for Kamui, and joins his final battle against Fūma, protecting him from a fatal strike. Before his apparent death, Subaru urges Kamui to realize his wish. Thus, Kamui sacrifices himself to bring Fūma back to his original, kind-hearted personality and save humanity from destruction; as a side effect, Subaru is revived and lives on.
Subaru appears briefly in the movie version of X/1999; he and Seishirō destroy each other in magical combat early in the film.
Creation and Conception
Subaru and his twin sister Hokuto, as well as Seishirō, were first conceived by series creator OhkawaNanase Ohkawa
is a member of the all-female manga-creating team Clamp. She is the director of the team and is primarily responsible for writing the stories and scripts for Clamp's various works....
for a dōjinshi
Dojinshi
is the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...
novel about an onmyōji who hunts elves, of which only the beginning exists. The characters were twice drawn for covers, and when South asked Clamp
Clamp (manga artists)
, is an all-female Japanese manga artist group that formed in the mid 1980s. Many of the group's manga series are often adapted into anime after release. It consists of their leader , who provides much of the storyline and screenplay for all their works and adaptations of those works respectively ,...
to create a new series for them, these characters were used. Originally, the twins were conceived more as mascots.
Subaru and Seishirō appear in X
X (manga)
, also known as X/1999, is a Japanese shōjo manga series created by Clamp, a creative team made up by Satsuki Igarashi, Nanase Ohkawa, Tsubaki Nekoi, and Mokona. It premiered in Monthly Asukas May 1992 issue and ran there until the magazine's editors showed concern with the increasingly violent...
because their relationship parallels Kamui and Fuuma's. They serve as an example to Kamui and Fuuma: One of X's most important developments is the question what these two will do so they won't end up like Subaru and Seishirō.
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
In Tsubasa: Reservoir ChronicleTsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
is a shōnen manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. It takes place in the same fictional universe as many of Clamp's other manga series, most notably xxxHolic. The plot follows how Sakura, the princess of the Kingdom of Clow, loses her soul and how Syaoran, a young...
, Subaru reappears as one of a pair of twin vampires (the other being Kamui Shirō) for whom Seishirō Sakurazuka
Seishiro Sakurazuka
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...
is searching. A correlation is also shown in Subaru's relationship with Seishiro, for he seems worried about him when he asks Fuuma how he is doing in the Tokyo arc. Also, though Kamui appears to have an intense hatred for Seishiro, Subaru is much more lax about their situation of being chased and seems to silently disagree with his twin.
He makes his first appearance in the Tokyo arc, in which he talks to a comatose Sakura and urges her to wake up before she is lost to her dreams. It turns out that he himself was left in a comatose state at the bottom of a large water reservoir, leading to Kamui's fierce protection of the site, particularly from Fuuma. Eventually he wakes and is at last rejoined with his twin.
xxxHolic
In volume one of xxxHOLIC, Yūko Ichihara mentions knowing an onmyōji with a twin sister whom she has known since the onmyōji was very young. She hopes that the boy will be happy, but there are many definitions for happiness. This onmyōji is Subaru.Reception
In the book Understanding Manga and Anime, writer Robin E. Brenner referred to Subaru's and Seishirō's relationship as one of the most explicit ones from X. Zac Bertschy from Anime News NetworkAnime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
referred to his confrontation with Seishirō in the TV series was praised mainly because how their character designs were updated from the ones from Tokyo Babylon. Mania Entertainment's Chris Beveridge found Subaru's introduction in X as one of his favorite episodes from the volume he reviewed due to the portrayal of the character's state ever since Hokuto's death. He also agreed with Bertschy, calling the episode of their final battle one of the best ones from the series focused on how their backgrounds are shown and tragic elements portrayed.