Fuma Monou

Fuma Monou
Manga Anime
Biographical Information
Full Name:	Fuma Monou
Age:	16-17
Status:	Alive (anime & manga) Deceased (movie)
Alias:	Kamui of the Dragons of Earth Dark Kamui
Allegiance
Affiliation:	Dragons of Earth
Title/s:	Dragon of Earth
Occupation:	Student
Family:	Kyogo Monou (father) † Saya Monou (mother) † Kotori Monou (sister) †
Residence:	Japan
Physical Description
Gender:	Male
Hair color:	Black
Eye color:	Brown (anime) Amber (manga)
Height:	6'0"
First Appearance
Anime:	Episode 1
Manga:	TBA
Voice Actors
Japanese:	Ken Narita (Movie) Sora Tôma (Young) Junichi Suwabe (TV series)
English:	Adam Henderson (Movie) Crispin Freeman (TV series)

“	If no one has the right to kill, to take a life away... then, why do people so easily forget what should matter most?	”
–Fūma Monou, Volume 18: Inversion

Fuma Monou (桃生 封真, Monou Fūma) is the main antagonist of the manga series, X.

Appearance

Fuma is in fact like any other characters in the series. Tall, broad shoulders and thick eyebrows. His eyes are deep gold in color while Kamui Shiro's eyes are amber in color, which are his eyes on the manga. His hair like any others are black in color, tousled and both swishy and spiky. Fuma is probably six feet in height and indeed taller than Kamui by more than 5 inches.

Personality

Fuma was indeed a responsible son and an affectionate older brother. Everyone in his town depended on Fuma as their role model and others even took pride in him because of his overwhelming kindness in helping other people. Fuma at first appears to be cold and stoic but Kotori Monou defines him as a person that never talks about his feelings out loud, but just hides them inside like animals do.

During his school life, Fuma was indeed considered popular by others, in large part due to his great skills as a basketball player (anime only). But until the time Kamui Shiro made his choice to become the Dragon of Heaven, Fuma's personality with thought a complete change. He quickly became as cold as ice. And is willy to kill other people as long as it is their heart's desire and continue fulfilling the people's wish. But sometimes, when the topic is Kamui, he happens to have his normal smile as his true self, a smile that Fuma does have.

Biography

Manga

Fuma is one of the very first characters to be introduced in the X story, on page 12 of volume 1, in fact. The first we see of him, he's waiting for his sister Kotori to get ready so they can ride to school on his bike. Basic facts about him are established quickly: he is the son of Kyogo Monou, the priest of Tokagushi shrine, and his mother died seven years ago.

The neighbors all think that the Monou siblings are exemplary children, and Fuma is the sort of guy who carries groceries for old ladies and saves small children from drowning. As soon as they arrive at school it's made abundantly clear that Crushing On Monou-sempai is quite the widespread affliction among the female population, and that he has earned the respect of his male classmates... not to mention the fact that guys interested in his sister all stay away because they're intimidated by him.

In short, Fuma, at the beginning of X, is the perfect image of a dutiful son, a protective older brother, and a generally all around Good Japanese Young Man. He's good at sports and well-liked, but he's also reserved and stoic.

The very day that the story begins, there is a new boy in Kotori's class. As it turns out, it's Kamui Shiro, Fuma's childhood best friend. Their mothers were close enough so that Fuma used to call Kamui's mother Aunt Toru, and Kamui had a bit of a crush on Kotori. Kamui made a promise to always protect Kotori, and Fuma made a promise to protect Kamui as long as he kept his promise.

Kamui and his mother left Tokyo after Saya Monou's very messy death. Fuma spent the next 7 years basically being a good son and trying to hold his sister together because, in addition to being sweet and docile, Kotori also happened to be sickly and rather on the batty side, understandable, given the way her mother died.

When Kamui returns, he's apparently become a rather arrogant little git who won't give his old friends the time of day, but by and by the Monou siblings work themselves back into Kamui's friendship. As it turns out, Kamui was keeping them at a distance because he was involved in messy, apocalypse-type business. He was supposed to choose whether he'd help destroy or save mankind, and ends up deciding to save it because he wants to protect "the world where Fuma and Kotori can be happy". And that is when all hell breaks loose.

As it turns out, Fuma happens to be not just Kamui's childhood friend, but his "twin star", his opposite, born to take the place Kamui will leave vacant when he finally makes his choice. Since Kamui chose to save mankind and become a Dragon of Heaven, Fuma informs him, it is his destiny to become a Dragon of Earth and kill those who are trying to save mankind. He says the Earth wishes for a change and he will grant it by killing all those who make it impure (i.e. mankind).

To drive his point home, Fuma impales Kamui to a slab of wall with various glass shards, the Shinken ("Holly Sword") and other other sharp and nasty things; in addition to releasing his until-now latent powers, Fuma evidently also got in touch with his inner seme. He end his performance by killing his sister while Kamui screams impotently. He does this in an impressively messy and through way, involving crucifixion's, the Shinken, and Kotori being torn to bits. To be honest, however, Kotori's mind wasn't actually in her body anymore, and the only one that benefited from the performance was Kamui.

Fuma spends his next appearances filling the role of Big Bad of X to perfection, blowing up buildings, causing earthquakes, and tormenting Kamui. Little by little, however, details are revealed that are evidence that Fuma is not just a villain bent on destroying mankind. His motives as of now remain unclear; but he has shown other sides of his personality. He can be surprisingly tender with certain people (most often, Kakyou and Nataku), and has shown that he has more humor and charm now than he ever did before.

Most of all, however, Fuma is uncannily perceptive, to the point that he can sense people's deepest desires. On several occasions, he has granted said desires. However, the way in which he grants this desires is reminiscent of stories about genies that grant their "master's" wish in unexpected and often lethal ways. People often write this off as sadism on his part, but the later volumes of the manga shed a different light on Fuma's wish granting. Fuma does not do what he does because he gets off on twisting people's wishes, he does it because it is truly what the person desires. It's a running motif of X that people should pursue their true wishes, whatever will make them truly happy, even if society condemns said wishes as wrong. Fuma is merely enabling people to reach what they want; as he says it, he expresses his own wish whenever he grants anyone else's.

Speaking of which, the biggest mystery surrounding Fuma is the matter of his own wish. In one of the last published installments of the manga, it was been revealed that Fuma's wish can only be granted by Kamui, who remains oblivious not just to Fuma's but to his own true wish. It's safe to say that the Earth's fate rests on both of those wishes.

Anime

He fights against Kamui and ended up killing his childhood friend. But was able to return to the person that Kamui knows as Fuma.

Powers

Fuma's powers only awaken by the second arc of the anime and manga. It was shown that like the others, he can leap to far and high places that regular humans couldn't possible reach, and also to heal much faster than an ordinary human. Being Kamui Shiro's twin star, he is also gifted with a telekinetic power, which allows him to move objects with his mind, as well as to be a skilled swordsman bestowed with an identical sword such as Kamui. His distinct power though among others is that Fuma grants other's wishes and know their greatest desires. It is in a sense that he has the ability to look like other people that once a person saw him, he ends up looking like that person's most desired person to meet or someone that that individual indeed loves. He possess the unique ability to know everyone's wish which is why he can give it to them at anytime. But as a drawback, he only knows what other people's wishes are, like the wish of Kamui, but he himself isn't aware what his wish might be.

Relationships

Kyogo Monou

Going by his first appearances and interaction with Fuma and Kotori, we are painted a picture of a kind, caring father. He is clearly proud of both of his children. There is also a certain sadness to him, which we assume at first is due to his wife's death years ago. It is also clear that Fuma and Kotori love their father. This is a family that struggled to come together and overcome the mother's death, and that they did so together: their father's love and support in particular made Kotori and Fuma grow into "the pride of the town". However, it is equaly clear that due to Kotori's fragile health (both mental and physical), it was Fuma that bore the greater part of the burden. It was undoubtably Fuma that Kyogo relied on.

This fact is further stressed after Kyogo's death: while talking to Kotori, Fuma tells her that if it hadn't been for her, he might have done "something disgraceful enough to drive father wild". While this also sheds light on what Kotori was to Fuma, it is equally indicative of how important it was to him to meet Kyogo's expectations. His father was a role model for him, and no doubt at least part of the reason why Fuma is who he is at the beginning of the series: serious to the point of being stern, protective of those that needed him, and very mindful of his duty as son, brother and student.

But Kyogo was much more than just the father Fuma knew. There is his relationship with Saya, being willing to live with the knowledge that she loved someone else, yet accepting that because of fate, duty and love. And then of course, there is that duty, a duty that neither Fuma nor Kotori knew about until it was too late. Kyogo, as priest of Tokagushi shrine, was the guardian of the Shinken. He also knew, to some extent, what Fuma's fate would be; yet he kept the truth from Fuma until the last possible instant. In that single fact, we can see the dichotomy that Kyogo was: one part loving father, who wanted nothing more than to keep his children safe and happy; and one part the dutiful servant of destiny, carrying out his duty to the best of his ability, willing to sacrifice his life for it, and knowing that ultimately, he must pass the burden along to his son.

Now, to all outward appearances Fuma is following in his father's footsteps: in becoming the Kamui of the Angels, he is also dutifully doing what is required and walking the path set for him.

Saya Monou

Saya is one of the most overlooked characters in the entire series, in part, because her role is minimal in the sense that she is already dead when X starts and we only ever see her through a few flashbacks. As far as the impact that she had on certain key characters and on the story itself in a very real sense, there would have been no story if not for Saya. Or at the very least, things would have been very different. The impact that her choices and her ultimate fate had on Fuma, specifically, was huge but also very subtle.

Even though it has never been stated outright, to Fuma, Saya is a symbol of the innocence and happiness that he has lost. In the page before he was talking about how he was happy as long as Kotori and Kamui were happy, but those memories are linked to the memory of Saya and Toru watching over the three of them together. And of course, Saya's death changed everything, so it's logical that in his mind, happiness might be at least subconsciously linked to the time when Saya was alive.

Kotori Monou

If Fuma wanted to be a "good man", the kind of man his father was, nowhere is that desire more evident than in his relationship with his younger sister Kotori.

One of the roles that Fuma took on as his own, even before his mother's death, was the role of protector. In many ways, he is still a protector, Fuma continues to fulfill the role of protector. Before he was anything else, Fuma was his little sister's champion. Oh, he became Kamui's as well, but their childhood promise makes Fuma's priorities crystal clear: he would protect Kamui as long as Kamui never made Kotori cry. The point of the promise was not to safeguard Kamui, even though he was important to Fuma too; the point was always Kotori. He was her older brother, and he was supposed to watch out for her. As simple as that.

This becomes even more crucial after Saya's death. It was their mother's violent, gruesome, and seemingly senseless death that unhinged Kotori, it damaged her irrevocably, and it was then that Fuma really shouldered the burden. There are several accounts of what may have happened after Saya's death. Two of those (Kamui or Fuma seeing his counterpart pick up Saya's head and lick her blood off his hand) are meant to be taken as metaphors, as dream images. I believe that what really happened is what is shown in volume two: Fuma and Kotori unwittingly walk into a room splattered with Saya's dismembered remains. Kotori can't handle the sight, she completely loses it; and Fuma does what he has to to do, the only thing he can do: he holds it together, he hugs Kotori and tries to shield her from the truth, he insists that that bloody mess is not their mother. Over the next seven years, Fuma continues to do the same thing. He is his sister's silent champion, he's there to protect her both from the world and from that memory and the darkness that it brings.

So if Fuma's one purpose since he was small was to protect Kotori, how is it that he ended up killing her.

This has never been truly explained. On the one hand, we know that Kanoe showed Fuma dream images of Kamui killing Kotori in the hopes that it would influence Fuma and bring him to her side. It would seem that that, coupled with the sheer power, awareness or whatever else that was released with Fuma's awakening as the other Kamui pushed Fuma to kill the one he wanted to protect.

But consider one thing: it was Kotori's wish to die, if it would mean saving the earth. Although at the time that he killed Kotori we had seen no other evidence of it, Fuma's fundamental power is that he sees people's wishes, and where he can, he grants them. It is, therefore, quite likely that he killed Kotori in response to her wish. It is also entirely possible that in a moment of suddenly heightened awareness he realized that it was destined that he or Kamui had to kill her, and that he did it so Kamui would not. Why? Perhaps it was to spare Kamui from having to do it. Or perhaps the truth lies in a conversation he has much later with Kakyou: "if there was someone that was ultimately important to me, I wouldn't allow them to be killed by anyone else". Everyone always assumes those words refer to Kamui. They could, however, mean other people. They could mean Kotori.

Kamui Shiro

Fuma and Kamui are childhood friends who both have tragic fates. Fuma was born to be Kamui's twin star. The two first meet on a rainy day when Fuma sees Kamui crouching in front of his house, covering a wet puppy from the rain. The two become quick friends before their mothers even introduce them to each other.

To talk about Kamui, at least in any meaningful sense, is also to talk about Fuma, who is, after all, also Kamui. This creates problems since there are few characters in the series that are more mysterious, opaque, and just generally frustrating as Fuma. To speak of his character is to speak of theories and possibilities (at least in the manga), though there is hope that the finale of the series, whenever it should occur, will shed some insight on this terribly complicated character.

In the beginning of the story, Fuma is the pillar of his family--helping his father and looking after his beloved younger sister. Well liked and respected by those who know him, Fuma appears to be a solid and trustworthy guy; one who is perhaps not overtly friendly, but certainly kind and helpful. His most important role seems to be that of a big brother to Kotori, who relies on him constantly due to her fragile health. He apparently loves his sister and wants her to be happy.

He is also Kamui's best friend. The two of them met as children and immediately became close friends. As Princess Hinoto later observes, while Kamui loved Kotori the most, he trusted Fuma more than anyone else in the world. Kamui had no other friends and thus these two people became the center of his world. That, it could be said, is his tragedy.

In some ways, fuma was very different from Kamui. fuma was raised in a family that was stable, loving and generally "typical", or at least seemed that way on the surface. When the family image began to shatter, it was marked by the death of his mother, leaving him with a father and devoted but fragile sister. Kamui, on the other hand, never knew his father and suffered as an outcast because of this. The only person he had growing up, besides his years with the Monou family, was his mother. Fuma was well respected in the community and a good son, while Kamui was an exile of sorts, particularly in the anime. As young children, Fuma seemed confident and affable, while Kamui seemed somewhat timid and melancholy. As teenagers, Fuma seemed emotionally stable while Kamui seemed volatile. If anybody seems likely to decide to want to destroy the world, at least on paper, Kamui would be a more likely candidate.

When Kamui returns to Tokyo, both Fuma and Kotori worry about their childhood friend and wonder why he has withdrawn from them. Kotori believes that Kamui is still the sweet person she loved as a child, but it is Fuma who understands his motivations. He sees his friend's suffering and, though he does not understand the circumstances, wants to support him through his troubles.

Unfortunately, Fuma has moments when darkness covers him and he slips into a malevolent persona that is rather contrary to the tender and loving person Kamui and Kotori both love. In these moments, he appears uninhibited and cruel, almost sadistic, and he torments Kamui. Then the feeling passes and he claims to have no memory of the previous moment. Still these moments are incredibly ominous.

Finally, Kamui makes his choice and Fuma takes his place as the other Kamui. He threatens to kill his former friend, tortures him, and ultimately murders the person Kamui loved most in the world. His stated purpose at this point is to protect the Earth from the humans that pollute and destroy it, but later he admits that he really does not care about the fate of the world. His true wish is something only Kamui can grant. Whatever that wish might be, he begins to rampage through Tokyo, blowing up buildings and killing people in order to destroy the Dragons of Heaven and the kekkai that protect the world of mankind.

His personality changes not only in the sense that becomes a mass murdering creeper, but also in general characteristics as well. Fuma was a serious person for whom duty to his family was an issue of the upmost importance. Fuma is more casual and easy going and he takes a twisted delight in his work as a Dragon of Earth. He even jokes about tasting the food at the best eateries in town before he and the other Dragons of Earth they are all destroyed. Fuma seemed like he had to hide a lot of his feelings, most likely in order to support his emotionally, as well as physically, delicate sister. Fuma is generally more aware of his feelings, though he may not be much more inclined to share them. Fuma has to be the strong one in his family and protect everyone else while Kamui of the Dragons of Earth protects no one.

Kamui between good of evil

Kamui of the Dragons of Earth does, however, possess an uncanny ability to understand other people, often more than they understand themselves. He knows a person's deepest desires--the wish that ultimately motivations him or her--and gives them that wish. It is unclear if he is compelled to grant wishes so, or if he simply chooses to do so. In either case, he finds it disappointing that more people do not want to stay alive more than anything else.

Kamui's feelings for Fuma are naturally very confused. Unlike the other Dragons, he refuses to acknowledge him as "Kamui of the Dragons of Earth" and instead sees him as "Fuma" under what might be called possession. Fuma was his most trusted friend and a person who he relied on when he refused the aid of anybody else. When he turned on him and threatened to kill him, Kamui was absolutely broken up inside. In many ways, Kamui may never completely recover from that incident. Now, Kamui claims that he wants to return Fuma to his original state, no matter what he has to suffer to do so. It seems that Kamui would even be willing to take the blame for Kotori's murder if it would spare Fuma from having to suffer.

On the other hand, Kamui sees Fuma hurting and murdering people and feels guilty since he has not been able to stop him. Kamui is the only person who can stop Kamui of the Dragons of Earth, but how can he do that when the person he loves most in the world now is the person he must fight? He decides that he must be willing to hurt

Play Gallery; Chi no Ryu- Fuma. Fuma's shinken stuck on Kamui's body.

Fuma in order to stop him, but he does not want to kill him, even if failing to do so will make others unhappy. Kamui loves his friend, and hates what he has become, but he really does not understand him very well. Of course Kamui does not understand other people in general, but with Fuma/Kamui of the Dragons of Earth, the consequences for failing to understand him might be dire.

In the anime, Kamui was killed by Fuma in the final battle and had his wish granted. Thus, Kamui was able to create a barrier field in form of a perfect sphere.

Fuma loved Kamui as well, to the extent that they even seemed like family when they were children. Kamui was a kind hearted, sincere, somewhat naive boy who meant the world to him and it was a horrible fate that marked him as Kamui's twin star. He seemed to genuinely want to protect Kamui and help him with his problems, up until he became Kamui of the Dragons of Earth. At that point, he became Kamui's main problem.

Kamui of the Dragons of Earth understands Kamui, perhaps more than anyone else. He tortures Kamui and taunts him, but ultimately he knows what lurks in the depths of his heart. He even offers to eat Kamui's heart, as if doing so would be a gift to Kamui or a way of granting his wish. Kamui of the Dragons of Earth says that he knows Kamui's true wish and if Kamui does not discover it, he can never win. He also says that Kamui is the only person who can grant him his wish, though Kamui does not know what that is either. In any case, the fate of the world hinges on the relationship between these two teenagers, their individual wishes, and Kamui's ability to understand himself and Fuma.

Kakyo Kuzuki

Fuma's relationship with Kakyo isn't much transverse in the series but in the manga, their relationship happens to arise much earlier because of Kakyo's wish to die. Fuma also looks pity on Kakyo because he can't resist to let his wish come true.

Appearances

X/1999 Episode List
A Reunion: Appears	A Nightmare: Appears	A Pledge: Appears	A Sacrifice: Appears	A Destiny: Appears	Kouya: Appears	Cyber: Absent	Gemini: Appears
Onmyou: Absent	Inuki: Absent	Border: Appears	Alternative: Appears	Return: Appears	Gathering: Appears	Guardian: Appears	Slaugher: Appears
Wish: Appears	Newborn: Appears	Inferno: Absent	Ripple: Appears	Current: Absent	Betrayal: Appears	Earth: Appears	Legend: Appears

X/1999 Manga Volumes
Prelude: Appears	Overture: Appears	Sonata: Appears	Intermezzo: Appears	Serenade: Appears	Duet: Appears	Rhapsody: Appears	Crescendo: Appears	Requiem: Appears
Fugue: Appears	Interlude: Appears	Movement: Appears	Lament: Appears	Concerto: Appears	Waltz: Appears	Nocturne: Appears	Suite: Appears	Inversion: Appears

Other appearances

Fuma make short cameos in TRC, but he exhibits an important role in the said series. Fuma appears as Seishiro Sakurazuka's younger brother, a hunter just like his brother does. Like Kamui Shiro, he isn't a resident in Tokyo, he arrives there four years before the Tsubasa group arrives. He appears to be a little friendly than Kamui. He search for valuable items and works under Yūko Ichihara before. He is the leader of the Tower group and appears to have one of Sakura's feathers. In one world, Fuma and Seishirou meets and his brother appears to age slowly and have one of the princess' feather as well. In that world as well, Fuma learns about the pair of vampire twins and meet Kamui in Tokyo alone without his twin Subaru.

Quotes

Anime

• "If anything happens to you, I'll protect you as well". (Episode 2: A Nightmare)

Manga

• "If I were him, I'll be glad. I want the person that I love die in no other hand but mine". (Volume 16)

Etymology

• The name Fuma means "seal, closing" (封) (fu) and "real, genuine" (真) (ma).
  • In short, his name means 'sealed truth' which is applied specifically with his role in several ways that involves his fated role as Kamui Shiro's twin star and that his true destiny was known only by a few.
• Fuma's surname Monou means "peach" (桃) (mono) and "life, living" (生) (u), which literally means "Raw Peach" altogether.
  • The kanji "生" may also mean 'raw' or 'birth'.

Gallery

Main article: Fuma Monou/Gallery

Trivia

• Fuma represents no Tarot cards
• His birthday is on February 28.
• Fuma knows about other's people's wishes and in the manga he knows his own wish.
• Fuma will kill anyone even his own comrades.
• It was explained that Fuma was supposedly not ever been born and if he was born, he will only act as the other Kamui.
• Fuma's Japanese voice actor, Junichi Suwabe, provided the voice of character from other anime adaptations of Clamp's manga series: Yoshiyuki Kojima from Chobits.
• Fuma's English voice actor, Crispin Freeman, provided the voice of character from other anime adaptations of Clamp's manga series: Hideki Motosuwa from Chobits.