The Twelve Kingdoms Forum

In ep1 when Youko happens to meet Enki, he says she has the "scent of blood".

I don't remember seeing something that clarifies what he meant by that. Any ideas? If all (potential) emperors have that "scent" (ouki - ie aura of the emperor?), why didn't Enki do anything then?

Maybe it applies to Taika in general?

As for what the "scent of blood" refers to... It's one of those things that I see again and again in anime and manga. Rurouni Kenshin and Blade of the Immortal stand out in that regards. It's a samurai thing. The idea that one's capacity for violence can be sensed by another.

I doubt that all emperors have the scent of blood about them. It is probably not a prerequisite for being a Meikun, but it certainly was necessary for Yoko's survival, wasn't it? On the other hand, can an emperor become a Meikun if he isn't able to do the harsh thing when it is necessary? Perhaps they all do have that scent, but it doesn't mark them as an Emperor since any killer on the street would have that scent as well.

Maybe it's her period?


It's kinda strange to say something like that when Youko hasn't done anything yet. Maybe it is the 'aura' of a would-be emperor but I doubt Enki can interfere since he was on another mission. As for Youko's capacity for violence later on, it was mostly done out of self-preservation and with the help of a Hinman. I doubt she could have done anything without it.

except for the fact that the hinman dissapears later on,
appearantly.. cause she asks Keiki to bring him back again...


as for the scent of blood.
at first I thought she was having her period...
but, I felt that would be a little too weird.

perhaps it was the dreams she'd been having that was showing?

buuuut... I'd rather think it's a prelude to things to come


speaking of that encounter... Enki really does look a lot different in that world..

- lei.

He must have been sensing a great potential for violence. Notice that Yoko took to killing pretty easily, hinman or no hinman.

As for Enki's appearance, well... he is a Taika!

Reckless Angel wrote:except for the fact that the hinman dissapears later on, appearantly.. cause she asks Keiki to bring him back again...

Wasn't that when she specifically asked the Hinman not to enter her after it came out to speak to her? She wanted to test her own strength against Sugimoto, and the Hinman remained out of her until she asked Keiki to give the Hinman to her again.

hehehe, my download of ep 12 was corrupt.. and skipped around two minutes.. those two minutes being when the hinman leaves =^.~=

didn't see the whole thing until yesterday (some time after I posted that)

- lei

garamir wrote:

Reckless Angel wrote:except for the fact that the hinman dissapears later on, appearantly.. cause she asks Keiki to bring him back again...

Wasn't that when she specifically asked the Hinman not to enter her after it came out to speak to her? She wanted to test her own strength against Sugimoto, and the Hinman remained out of her until she asked Keiki to give the Hinman to her again.

Hmm, I think there's a bit of confusion b/c of changes from novel to anime. In the novel, Sugimoto doesn't tag along for the ride to JK-land, so there's no scene asking Jouyuu to leave temporarily. Instead, the equivalent scene simply has Jouyuu speaking to Youko (same lines as in the anime), encouraging her to seek the throne. Jouyuu then apologizes for disobeying her order (i.e. to act as if he's not there) and goes silent. Later, when Youko rescues Keiki, she asks him to rescind her previous order (so Jouyuu can talk now ) but adds that she still needs Jouyuu. Here again, the anime uses the same lines as in the book; it's just confusing because the anime inserted the bit with Sugimoto.

In the anime, I'd always assumed that Jouyuu returned to Youko once the confrontation w/ Sugimoto was over. I don't think Youko would've joined the rescue-Keiki mission without the _hinman_.

I agree here. I believe Jouyuu returned to her after she finished testing out whatever the hell she wanted to test out.

I too don't believe she would have entered battle without a hinman. Recall how she performed without Jouyuu during that fight with sugimoto.
Would YOU go into battle with that kinda fighting skill?*

*note, she's not immortal at this point, yet*

rakucho wrote:*note, she's not immortal at this point, yet*

Although in this series, immortality doesn't seem to count for much. Immortal unless it's a mortal wound... which would pretty much be what killed you anyway... O_o

Argh, I can't find the episode now that I need to check those scenes. Curse you, disorganization.

Actually i got the impression for a High Immortal such as say an Emp could not be killed by any means but decapitation (Fine fine or losing the Kirin) That is why the Nasty Noble dude told Asano that he could not kill him. The gun will shoot him but fail to do any harm. If say the Emp of En got stabed though the gut with a normal weapon it would not kill him or even phase him i thought.

If the Weapon is a Touki it is a whole nother story however those CAN harm an Immortal.

A kirin's refferal to a scent of blood can mean 2 things:

1) The physical scent of blood which makes a kirin numb.

2) A sort of premonition of killing and danger.

As far as the last scene in episode 30 where Asano points his gun at Shoukou... I worded the line as "Kill me, let's see if you can." Not necessarily because of the immortality thing, but because Shoukou kind of welcomes the threat. (this will be later explained.)

Literally, Shoukou said, "Kill me, that's a good idea." but it just doesn't convey the same meaning worded that way in english. (Welcoming the threat)

Come to think of the Kirin numb to blood thing
When youko in ep 1 slayed the kouchou bird she had blood all over her and the sword and keiki was standing right next to her unaffected.
This was right before he opened the shoku to bring Youko to 12 kingdoms.

perhaps it's only human blood?

(taiki had a nasty cut on his forehead when he came back to Wa... but it didn't seem to affect him that much either)..

also, what kind of creature was it that got its blood removed and splattered all over Keiki in the beginning? youma? normal animal?

- lei

Its all blood that affects the Kirin.

When Taiki goes back to Wa he is dazed and confused because(i think) of a hit on the forhead where his horn is. The blood probably is affecting him a little but he is not really noticing.

When he gets pulled of the cliff and is bleeding he starts feeling numb.

The Blood that falls on Keiki is Youma blood to be exact it is the blood of his captured dog Youma (Sorry i forget the name)

I do not think the blood does anything physical to the Kirin they just really REALLY hate the smell of blood and it makes them, well, nautious i guess.

Probably about how we would feel if we had to wade through an open sewer. We could do it but we would not like it in the least. Now think of that X10.

Yeah, it's blood in general. But, I think it renders a kirin powerless. Note that it's shirei cannot move too when there is blood present.

Quick note, do not confuse a "higher sage" with a "holy sage".
A higher sage would be like Mistress Riyou and other characters which have not been introduced yet. A holy sage would be an emperor.

Sennin = Sage
Nyousen = Female Sage (Mount Hou Sages)
Chisen = Kingdom Sage
Hisen = Higher Sage
Shinsen = Holy Sage

except when she's taken back kei, Sugimoto asks where Keiki is.. and Youko answers: "he can't come near me right now".

because she's got some blood on her clothes.

- lei

Well we never really See Keiki after the Koucho is killed so maybe he is affected and feeling bad just we do not see it. Or maybe the rain keeps the smell down.

It's probably that kirin can tolerate being in the presence of blood for short periods of time, like after Yoko killed the Koucho, but prolonged exposure might start to affect them.

It's a bit late, but I'd just like to say - thanks for all the replies.

I think the most likely case is that Enki had some kind of premonition of what would happen to Youko, rather than she has a "killer" personality. At the beginning of the series, Youko is having dreams which seem like premonitions too.

I've known a few gals with 'killer' personalities!!
only they seemed all too eager to dump me, not kill though...so I guess I should call myself lucky for bein alive..

Janster

The blood that was splashed all over Keiki at the beginning was the blood of the dog youma familier thingy. However that should have affected Kourin to.

It is a strange world.

Well, it wasn't actually on her, so that may have made all the difference.