Kamui Shirō

Kamui Shirō
X character
170px Kamui as illustrated by Clamp
First appearance	X volume 1.
Created by	Clamp
Voiced by	Japanese Tomokazu Seki (film) Kenichi Suzumura (TV series) Mamoru Miyano (Tokyo Revelations) English Alan D. Marriott (film) Steve Cannon (TV series) Micah Solusod (Tokyo Revelations)
Profile
Relatives	Tōru Shirō (mother) Tokiko Magami (aunt)

Kamui Shirō (司狼 神威, Shirō Kamui) is a fictional character created by Clamp introduced as the protagonist of the manga series X. In X, Kamui is a young esper who returns to Tokyo after a six-year absence to face his destiny. Kamui's fate is to decide whether the world should be destroyed so it may be reborn without humanity or save the world so humanity can continue to live in its current state. For this he has to join to either Dragons of Heaven or Dragons of Earth and battle to grant his wish. Kamui has also appeared in the animated adaptations of X where he follows a different course of action as well as in the manga Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle as an alternate persona from a post apocalyptic Tokyo.

Clamp's headwriter Nanase Ohkawa originally created Kamui during high school as part of a story involving warriors fighting for "justice." His incorporation to X also included themes Ohkawa thought since she was a student such a possibility of an evil alter ego and whether mankind was more important than the Earth. For the animated versions of X there was a focus in portraying Kamui as neither as a strong or weak character.

Publications for manga, anime and other media have given mixed response to Kamui. While writers often criticize him for his brooding personality, his development across the series made them appreciate more his role in the story. Kamui has also been popular within Clamp's fanbase.

Appearances

In the X manga

Kamui is introduced in X as a teenager who returns to Tokyo after a six-year absence following his mother's death. Contrary to how kindhearted his childhood friends Fūma and Kotori Monou remember him, Kamui appears as a distanced and cold teenager who avoids interacting with them. Following his arrival to Tokyo, Kamui is observed by two groups known as the Dragons of Heaven and Dragons of Earth who are interested in how is it that Kamui can change the world's fate. Princess Hinoto contacts Kamui and warning him that if he does not become the Dragons of Heaven's leader, Kotori will be murdered. Still confused by what he should do, Kamui meets his aunt Tokiko Magami who sacrifices herself to "give birth" to a Sacred Sword which Kamui needs to wield to do change Earth's fate. Her sister Tōru Shirō, was the one meant to sacrifice herself but she instead used her life to delay the awakening of the Sacred Sword.

After Tokiko's death, Kamui gains a full understanding about his mission. He can either become a Dragon of Heaven and protect mankind from extinction or he can become a Dragon of Earth and destroy mankind to protect the Earth. As a result of starting to care about Fūma and Kotori again, Kamui instantly becomes a Dragon of Heaven. However, it is then when Fūma awakens a sadistic alterego known as the Dragon of Earth's "Kamui." The new Fūma kills Kotori in order to torture Kamui but escapes after the arrival of the Dragons of Heaven. One of them, Subaru Sumeragi, helps Kamui recover from his traumatic experience by encouraging him to grant his own wish which is recovering the original Fūma.

For the next months, Kamui starts living with the Dragons of Heaven Sorata Arisugawa, Arashi Kishū and Yuzuriha Nekoi which helps him form new friendships. He and the Dragons of Heaven work together with Hinoto's assistance to protect Tokyo's barriers from the Dragons of Earth and avoid the Earth's destruction. Across his fights, Kamui encounters Fūma several times but is unable to defeat him. As only one barrier in Tokyo is intact, Kamui encounters Fūma once again who tells him he will never defeat him unless he discovers what is his true wish.

In X adaptations and other series

While the manga's serialization was put in hiatus leaving the story unconcluded, its animated adaptations show Kamui reaching different fates. In the X film, Kamui's fight against Fūma ends with the former decapitating the latter. He is voiced in the film by Tomokazu Seki in Japanese and Alan D. Marriott in English. In the television series, Kamui goes to fight Fūma after Hinoto's suicide unseals the Sacred Sword. He tries to kill Fūma after learning it was determined he was going to lose. However, Kamui is severely wounded in combat and ends being saved by Subaru. Subaru once again encourages him to grant his own wish and Kamui faces Fūma. In the final battle, Kamui sacrifices his life to create a barrier to protect mankind from danger and passes Fūma his will which restores his personality. Kamui is voiced in the television series by Kenichi Suzumura in Japanese and Steve Cannon in English.

An alternate version of Kamui makes an appearance in Clamp's crossover series, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, as one of the vampire twins Seishirō is after. He leads the fighters of the City Hall faction (alternate versions of the Dragons of Earth) in a battle to protect their water source, although he is actually protecting his twin Subaru who is sleeping underwater. He often battles an alternate version of Fuma who leads the Tokyo Tower faction. When encountering dimension traveller Syaoran, Subaru awakens after Syaoran retrieves the magical feather that sealed him. Before leaving Tokyo, Kamui gives his blood to the sorcerer Fai D. Flowright as part of a negotiation he does to restore Tokyo's water. He and Subaru then leave Tokyo to another world. In Tsubasa Tokyo Revelations, he is voiced by Mamoru Miyano in Japanese and Micah Solusod in English.

Outside manga and anime, Kamui also appeared in two video games based on the series as a playable character: X: Unmei no Sentaku and X: Card of Fate. He is also the focus of the seventh CD of the X Character Files audio drama series where Kenichi Suzumura provides his voice.

Creation and design

Kamui originates from a story Clamp's headwriter, Nanase Ohkawa, wrote during high school. Kamui was one of the lead characters fighting a losing battle in the name of "justice." After finishing Clamp School Detectives, Clamp decided to write a story where readers see the development of two groups which resulted in using Kamui and Fuma. While several members from the cast were created using the Osamu Tezuka's Star System technique were old designs are incorporated in new characters, no models were used to create Kamui. Clamp had several demands when illustrating Kamui since he was the series' protagonist. While he was made to outstand out within other characters, his hairstyle and school uniform have been referred as average by Ohkawa. Clamp's lead artist Mokona believes this was influenced by the heroic character type he was based on. As a result, Mokona comments Kamui fits the manga's story. In giving the character a name, the authors originally wanted to give him the name from another character they created in another series. However, as a result of the plot requiring him to have a meaningful name the idea was scrapped and he was given the name Kamui.

Kamui's decisions reflects one of X's main themes which is caring for the humans even if does not help the Earth. While Ohkawa considers it common sense that people care about protecting the planet, it is more important loving friends and relatives. Ohkawa also applied to Kamui and Fuma ideas she had during middle school such as the fact that both possess a dual nature as she states people can be considered good or evil. As a result of Kamui losing Kotori and all his relatives, Ohkawa placed emphasis on Kamui's friendship with Fuuma as she believes his feelings have become stronger. Across the manga, Kamui meets Subaru Sumeragi whose rivalry with Seishiro Sakurazuka serves as parallel to Kamui's rivalry with Fuma Monou. Clamp referred to Kamui and Subaru as siblings; Kamui is supposed to learn from their Subaru's final fight with Seishiro and avoid his final fight against Fuuma have the same tragic conclusion.

For the X television series director Yoshiaki Kawajiri decided not to explore his backstory early in the series to focus more on his cold demeanor. He also labeled Kamui as weak person due to how much it costs him to express emotions. In the animated film Kamui was voiced by Tomokazu Seki. Kenichi Suzumura replaced him for the original video animation and television series. He first voiced in the OVA that acted as a prologue to the X television series. Since Kamui did not have many lines in the OVA, Suzumura lacked a full impression about him before as more of his character would explored in the television series. However, he added he found his role complicated as he understands Kamui is neither the weakest or strongest character. Voicing Kamui also meant that Suzumura debuted as a singer for an X CD.

Reception

Kamui's character has resulted in multiple reactions from publications for manga and anime. Mike Crandol from Anime News Network found Kamui less interesting than other supporting characters due to his negative attitude. Chris Beveridge from Mania Entertainment noted that Kamui's tragic backstory explored in the series "adds a new dimension" to the character. Zac Bertschy from Anime News Network agreed noting that Kamui managed to develop despite retaining his brooding and distanced persona. On the other hand, Andy Hanley from UK Anime Network found that despite the appealing backstory Kamui to understand his emotions, it still "doesn't make him any less frustrating to watch" when compared to other characters. Beveridge later praised Kamui and Fuma's final fight in the television series as it has its "own level of epic sadness and tragedy." For the film, Bamboo Dong from ANN praised Tomokazu Seki role voicing Kamui due to how he displays the character's emotions.

Several fans reading the series have wondered whether Clamp was hinting a romantical relationship going on between Kamui and Fuma. In response, in the book Understanding Manga and Anime writer Robin E. Brenner stated Clamp had no of those intentions as he compared them with the more explicit relationship Subaru had with Seishiro. Kamui's appearance in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle proved to be popular as he was voted as the sixth most popular character in the second poll.