Kamui is a teenager with tousled dark hair and intense eyes. In most official manga art, his eyes are colored violet. In the anime, Kamui's eyes are amber instead.
At first glance, one would not be inclined to believe that Kamui is one of the two most powerful beings in the world. He is small and androgynous: the shortest male character in the cast, and with delicate features. His power and status stands in direct contrast to this.
Personality[]
Kamui was introduced in both the series and anime as a cold, ruthless and reckless young man. Not caring if he involves other people in his affairs and destroying public property. It is only later on that he tries distance himself from others in order to protect them from the burden he carries. It slowly comes to light that he cares deeply towards Kotori Monou and Fuma Monou, who were the first to see his kind-hearted and gentle side. It is due to his affection for Kotori and his friendship with Fuma that he is able to better express himself later on.
After he chooses to be a Dragon of Heaven, and following Fuma's betrayal and Kotori's death, Kamui slowly opens up with his comrades who at first, he considers as his enemies as well. He slowly becomes much more open to them, but at the same time he's clouded with fear and guilt, especially knowing that he's the reason that the Dragons of Heaven are constantly exposed to dangerous situations. He tends to worry about them, being the protective and caring person that he is, due to the fact that his comrades have sacrificed their happiness and even their lives in order to protect him.
Kamui transferred to a public school in Tokyo at grade three in which he befriends the Monou siblings quickly. No one else wanted to befriend him because of his not knowing his father. Kamui swore to himself that no matter what happens he will protect Fuma Monou and Kotori Monou's happiness. He also swore to marry Kotori and promised Fuma that he will protect Kotori no matter what and never let her cry.
After some years later, Saya Monou (Fuma and Kotori's mother) died under suspicious circumstances and Toru Magami (Kamui's mother) explained it that Saya's death was for their sake. Kamui doesn't know what it means and so the two left for Okinawa. Kamui experienced another adjustment without his precious friends to go on and meddle with other people. He earns friends when he seek revenge for the two that causes him to be suspended from school. He mostly skipped classes because his mother never scolded him. In there, Toru died, being enveloped by flames as his shadow sacrifice (anime) and of the earth (manga). Through his mother's death, he fulfills his mother's dying wish. Penetrating him to return to Tokyo because his destiny awaits him there.
Upon his arrival, he was challenged to a physic duel, a sign that others are aware of his power and of his return. He also meet Kotori and Fuma and become involved with them. In Tokyo, the people that are involved for the end of the world gathers around him. He meets Sorata Arisugawa and befriends him quickly. But then, another thing happened. The shinken that was supposedly belongs to him was stolen in the Togakushi Shrine and result the death of Kyogo Monou, (Fuma and Kotori's father). Kamui and Sorata meet Tokiko Magami, his aunt that told him that there is another sword that will be later on be born. But Kamui has no idea that the sword will be born out of his aunt. Slowly, he meets more people and Fuma is undergoing personality change when he is confused of which future to choose. He ended up choosing to be a Dragon of Heaven to protect the world Kotori and Fuma lives on. At his expense, Kotori becomes the first casualty and Fuma awakens as his 'Twin Star' of the Dragons of Earth.
He falls under a catatonic state upon Kotori's death and Subaru saves him from his sorrows. Right after, the Dragons of Heaven gathers and sealed the shinken in CLAMP Academy until the time that he will be needing it. Afterwards, many events happen and deaths of the ones precious to him continuously follows. With those events, he blames himself.
When the barriers in Tokyo are finally over and Tokyo tower is the last one left, the Dragons of Heaven lost their power to create a kekkai and the will to protect others, Kamui made his final confrontation with Fuma and realize his wish. He was killed by Fuma in the end. But he won and was able to return Fuma the way he is. His body dissolves into light and made a kekkai in shape of a perfect sphere, a kekkai that he never able to create at first.
Manga[]
There is no clarified ending to give as a conclusion.
Movie[]
Powers[]
Kamui is indeed powerful, even among the other characters who seem to have powers as well. Like them, he is capable of leaping fifty feet high and landing perfectly fine. In comparison to the others, he heals twice as fast as an ordinary human and faster than an ordinary seal. In contrast to the other characters who mostly have a single distinct power, Kamui seems to possess most of them and more.
Telekinetic Power: Although Kamui does not manipulate a natural element in the way Karen Kasumi manipulates fire or Seiichiro Aoki manipulates wind, he can create giant energy blasts out of his own psychic or spiritual power, which is akin to psychokinesis. When preparing to fight, he gathers energy around himself and can fire it at enemies (like during his fight with Daisuke Saiki) or break through spells (like during his encounter with Seishiro in the Diet Building). Unlike Subaru Sumeragi and Sorata Arisugawa, who use spells, talismans, and so on, Kamui's power appears to be mostly directed by his own will. His psychic powers also make him super strong as well as super agile and fast. Additionally, he is able to sense other people's power and auras, and it is because of this ability that he was able to detect that something was considerably wrong with Princess Hinoto. Unfortunately Kamui's psychic strength, while demonstrated in the first few volumes, mostly falls apart once he actually chooses a side. He is still capable of summoning considerable power, but he is often overcome. Although he is apparently a match for Dark Kamui in terms of literal power, his will, and thus his fighting ability, is considerably dampened by his indecisiveness.
Kamui's sword, Shinken.
Shinken: Kamui's second most remarkable ability is that he can wield the blade known as the Shinken, also referred to as the Holy Sword or Sacred Sword, what appears to be a very ornate longsword (the blade seems a little thick to be a rapier). There are actually two swords called the "Shinken", one for each Kamui, and both swords were born from the body of a woman who was ripped apart when the sword manifested. Although others handle the sword at different points in the story, it is exclusively the right of the Kamui's to use them during the final battle and unleash their full power. Others, such as Yuzuriha and Arashi, also wield magical weapons (swords specifically) but neither of them quite match the power of the Shinken.
Dream vision:
Kamui inside Hinoto's dreams.
Although it is a rather minor point, Kamui, like many others in the story, has visions of the future in his dreams. Unlike the dream seers such as Hinoto and Kotori who can slip into the dreams of others as well as see the future, his visions remain fairly limited to one particular event which is Kotori's mutilation and murder.
Kamui's Kekkai
Kekkai: There is one major power that, so far, in the manga, Kamui lacks and that is the ability to form a kekkai, which is a protective barrier which Seals can create that prevents the damage done during a battle from impacting the real world. The exact design of the kekkai varies depending on the creator, but the purpose is to protect innocent people from getting involved in battles. The only way that those inside the kekkai can get out of it is if the Seal takes it down or if that person dies. At first this wasn't an issue for Kamui because he cared very little about the impact his psychic battles had on the landscape, but eventually it becomes a problem for him and he begins to worry about his inability to create one. When he asks the others how they are able to create their Kekkai, they reply that the power comes from their desire to protect something. It might be that during the final battle Kamui will realize his true wish and find something he wants to protect enough to create a Kekkai.
In the anime, it was revealed that Kamui was able to make a barrier field in a shape of perfect sphere.
Kamui and Kotori as they meet each other in the library.
Kamui's relationship with Kotori happens to be the reason why she got involved with Kamui's destiny. The two are not just childhood friends, but they are each others childhood sweet hearts. Kamui once swore to Fuma that he would be Kotori's groom and he'd never let Kotori cry even at the slightest of time. Kamui returns Kotori's love, perhaps more than even she ever understands. Initially, whenever his softer side would emerge, it was because of Kotori. It is for her sake, as well as Fuma's, that Kamui attempts to battle his loneliness and remain distant from the only living people he loves and trusts. It is also for her sake, for the sake of protecting the Earth she loves, that he decides to become a Dragon of Heaven. Kotori and Fuma are the center of Kamui's world--a world which is unfortunately tainted with tragedy. He cannot help but be drawn to them, even though the horror of losing them, of ruining their lives, seeps through his conscience like poison. Hinoto even says that Kotori is the person he loves most in the world, but she is also the person he cannot help but destroy. Even after her death, she continues to affect many of his decisions because it is partially for her sake that he wants to regain Fuma. He may not have been able keep her safe like he promised, but he can potentially save Fuma.
Kanoe and Kamui are the lovers in tarot cards
Kotori and Kamui become friends quickly and accept each others differences. Kotori with a weak heart and Kamui without friends, because he doesn't know who his father is. For years they grew up together. In the anime; one time, they are climbing up an old tree to return a fallen little bird from its nest; they fall but Kamui managed to hold onto the tree and to Kotori. Kamui told Kotori that he would never let go. Until afternoon Kamui
didn't let go off Kotori. In the manga; there are two scenes that show their relationship. First is when Kotori climbs up a tree and she falls but Kamui catches her in the ground. Second is when Kotori's favorite hat was blown by the wind and got stuck on the top of a tree, because Kotori is afraid that Kamui will just get wounded. But then, the next day she just find her favorite hat on there class' roof near her room's window. She thought that it would be Kamui who'd try to get it and it is the truth. Kotori finds out Kamui wounded. Kamui returns as a changed young man, a kind-hearted but troubled esper. Kotori finds out Kamui's return through her dream and Fuma meets Kamui on the school grounds. But it was also Kotori that first confronted him upon his arrival. Kotori approaches him to let him know but Kamui asks for Kotori to leave. Kamui is still kind and changes his attitude to a scared one that he uses every time he carries the unconscious Kotori to the clinic. Kamui also keeps Kotori from falling unconscious on the hallway of the hospital and embraces her tightly until she wakes
Kamui embraced Kotori when she was about to fall.
up. Kamui also walks her home and make sure that she is just alright. For Kamui, his main objective is to make sure that the people that he treasures most, Kotori and Fuma are safe and not in danger. Just by knowing that they are fine, brings him relief even he is severe wounded just because of the two of them. Since then, Kamui's attitude differs from Kotori and Fuma. He only wishes that Kotori and Fuma's happiness be maintained. When Kotori asked Kamui about his wish since Kamui already knows Kotori's wish to be an indigo dyesmate, Kamui just answered "I don't have any wish of my own." Until his battle with Seishiro Sakurazuka involves Kotori; when Kotori is about to fall, he still holds Kotori's hand to avoid her fall and Seishiro stated that, "You are too kind but if you continue to protect that girl from falling, your defend will break and cause your own death." Still, Kamui would sacrifice his own life just to protect Kotori and Fuma.
Certainly her frailty and her inability to actively shape the future constitutes part of her tragedy, but really, Kotori's main misfortune lies in falling between two young men who are destined to fight each other for the sake of the world. In her heart she knows that the fate of the world rests on her body and she wishes to shatter before destroying the world in which Kamui and Fuma live. Even in death, she still held on to the hope that everything could work out for the best. Although Fuma murdered her in an extremely violent manner, she still loved both him and Kamui. Her final words, words that resound throughout the story in opposition to the words of many others, were, "The future is not yet decided." Perhaps these final words will determine how this story ends.
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 naïve 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.
Probably the first member of the Dragons of Heaven to make a real connection with Kamui was Sorata, a
cheerful young monk from Mount Kouya. Perhaps the main reason that he is able to cope with Kamui’s incredibly hostile exterior is that he is completely the opposite in nature—open, honest, and more than a little inclined towards frivolity. He’s ultimately a people person with a keen gift of insight and perception, which is an interesting counterpoint to Kamui who has trouble understanding people. Although he is about Kamui’s age, he still acts more like a big brother towards Kamui than anything else, even while Kamui is at his most unreceptive. Sorata’s gentle yet consistent companionship plays a major role in Kamui’s ultimate personality transformation from raving jerkass back to someone a little more sympathetic. Although his mission as a Dragon of Heaven is to protect Kamui with his life, his ultimate fate will be to die for a woman. Sorata was taken from his family while he was still very young so he could be trained at the Buddhist
monastery in order to fulfill his destiny in the coming years. Although he enjoyed his life as a monk, his only memory of his mother is the tears that were streaming down her cheek as she left him there. This memory haunts him and inspires his desire to never see another woman a cry, which is why he accepts his fate so readily. Although Sorata had been observing Kamui before this, they actually meet in the second volume after Sorata fights a battle with Yuto (a Dragon of Earth) to decide who will get to talk with him first. Sorata, who possesses considerable knowledge of various occult organizations in addition to knowledge about the “Promised Day”, offers Kamui knowledge about his family. For a while, the relationship remains rather rocky and uneven, given Kamui’s sudden fits of violent rage, but Sorata persists and eventually the two become fairly close friends. Although Kanoe quickly figures out that Kotori and Fuma are Kamui’s weaknesses, Sorata also observes how much he cares about them and even suggests putting them under surveillance in order to keep them safe. When Kotori dies, he mourns the fact that, as Kamui’s protector, he was unable to do anything. “I'm sorry. I was a bigmouth and said, ‘If anything happens to you, I will throw my body in the way and help you somehow.’ It turns out I couldn't do anything” (vol 9). He even asks if he can pray for the young girl who died so tragically. In a way, Sorata is more of a leader of the Dragons of Heaven than Kamui, who often appears completely lost. Certainly Sorata tends to take the lead a bit more often, especially by directing the others to split up into teams.
Even in their personal life, Sorata and the three other school age Seals share a dorm suite at CLAMP Campus and he appears to be the de facto big brother of the group. In one scene, he holds his hand up to Kamui’s head while holding the other up to his own in order to see if Kamui is running a temperature. The scene is so domestic that it seems rather funny in a story that is mostly about the world ending.
Although Kamui never comments on Sorata’s leadership, it appears that he appreciates Sorata and trusts him as a close ally. Perhaps the only other person he trusts as much as Sorata is Subaru, but that might be because of their shared experiences—namely having a loved one murder another loved one. Subaru gained Kamui’s trust by going deep within Kamui’s heart following his greatest moment of torment. Sorata had to slowly gain Kamui’s trust through cheerful personality and steadfast loyalty. Once Subaru is gone, it is Sorata he turns to when he suspects that something is wrong with Hinoto and he trusts him to find out what is going on.
Sorata, in some ways, acts as a point of contrast to Kamui, not only in personality, but also in terms of accepting his destiny. Kamui, for the most part, remains ambivalent about his role in the final days, if not, as in the beginning, completely set against any involvement. Despite facing the crushing loss of his mother when he was a young child, Sorata on the other hand, has gladly embraced his role in the End of the World and his destiny, though with one little twist—he will choose the girl for whom he will die. It is a strange balance of choice and destiny that characterizes X/1999’s take on the duality of these two ideas as well as the concept of duality in general.
For Sorata, and many other characters, Kamui represents a purpose. He could easily have resented Kamui and blamed him for the fact that he was ripped away from his mother when he was very young. Instead Sorata, ever the optimist, sees his fate, and his relationship with Kamui, as an opportunity to find the woman he will love and for whom he will eventually die. Even if he dies in this conflict, which I believes he will, his life has not been lived in vain. He has faith that losing his relationship with his mother will be worth it in the end—that Kamui, and the woman he loves, will be worth that sacrifice.
Sorata has a powerful impact on Kamui’s character. He is one of the few people who can actually communicate with Kamui in the beginning and he is one of the people who understand Kamui the clearest. Because of Sorata’s influence, he slowly begins to show his softer side. Kamui, who has been so starved for friendship for most of his life, finds a close friend and confidant in Sorata, who, unlike Fuma, will not betray him. Kamui may have eventually choose to be a Dragon of Heaven at some point because of his relationship with Fuma and Kotori, but Sorata and his kind spirit certainly made it easier.
Toru is the only relative Kamui left during his childhood days except his aunt Tokiko that he just meet during his return. Even though Kamui’s mother, Toru, dies just before the start of the story, she is one of the story’s most influential characters. It is because of her and her sudden death that Kamui returned to Tokyo and it is her words to him about his love for Kotori and Fuma that inspire him to choose to protect the Earth. Very little is known about Toru’s past except that when she was young she left the Magami household right after she graduated from high school. The night before she left she told her sister Tokiko, “I bear the child of a man. This is a child I bear for the sake of the earth.” After that, nothing is known about the life she spent with Kamui until years later when they move to Tokyo and live near the Monou family. After the death of Saya Monou, who died giving birth to the Holy Sword, the two of them moved to Okinawa where Toru eventually died. In reality, it was Toru who should have died, not Saya, but Saya was in love with Toru so she married into the Monou family specifically so that she would be a part of the Togakushi shrine and bear the burden of giving birth to the Holy Sword. Her death allowed Toru more time to spend with her son until the day she died from different magical causes. Those of the Magami family are "kage-nie" or what apparently means "shadow offering". They are human Migawari-ningyou (substitute dolls) who receive the misfortunes of other people. Generally people who are very important hire the clan for protection, and since the "kage-nie" is trained in magic, the person can use magical techniques to avoid the misfortune. Kamui eventually finds out that she was the “kage-nie” for the earth itself and she died due to global warming. In the anime, on the other hand, she was the “kage-nie” for Kamui instead and died protecting him until he was ready to return to Tokyo.
Toru cared deeply for her only son and hated the fact that he was burdened with such a cruel fate. As she was burning up, her final words about him were, “Sorry Kamui… I must die, leaving you alone with this cruel fate. Kamui, be strong so that you can choose the future.” Although she believed in fate and generally accepted it as immutable, she also hoped that Kamui would be able to overcome his fate and save the world. Despite generally telling Kamui about his fate and giving him information that would be hard for a child to process, she also withholds a lot of information, specifically concerning the Holy Sword and the Monou family. Perhaps she thought that her information, of which she had a lot, would influence Kamui’s decision and jeopardize the future. In any case, it seems that she had a lot of faith in her son’s heart and his desire to protect those he loves. It seems she really wanted Kamui to be happy, no matter what that meant for the future.
For his part, Kamui loved his mother deeply as well and wanted to protect her as much as Kotori and Fuma. She had to explain to him that her fate was already set, she would have to die, which was difficult for him to accept. Her death marks an important turning point in Kamui’s life because she was the one person who had always been on his side and who he trusted completely. Her death furthered his isolation and intensified his need for other friends on whom he could depend, meaning her death as well as her instructions to return to Tokyo drove him right into the middle of Monou family and his destiny.
Magami Tokiko is Kamui’s aunt and Toru’s younger sister. She was only a young teenager when her sister lefts while she was pregnant with Kamui, but she was still tied inevitably to his destiny. In time she got a job working as a public health official at the school Kotori, Fuma, and (eventually) Kamui all attend and she lived in a house very close to Kamui’s old home. Once Kamui returned, she sought him out in order to tell him about his family legacy, of which he knew nothing. In fact, he never even knew that his mother had a sister. At first he was completely confused about her identity until he realized just how much she looked like his mother. Unfortunately she was taken before she could give Kamui very much information and as she was pulled from her house, she told Karen, who had been observing Kamui’s old house, to burn her place to the ground.
Although this does not become clear until much later, she was taken by agents working for Hinato who wanted to keep her from giving birth to the second sword. Eventually she escaped her captures, but she was badly wounded in the process. She came to Kamui while he was with Fuma at the Togakushi Shrine—the same place where Saya died giving birth to the other holy sword. After telling Kamui that she was happy with her fate, her body ripped apart as she gave birth to a second sword. Kotori sees her body torn into pieces and begins to lose her mind.
Tokiko gives her life for Shinken
Tokiko is in the story very briefly and gives Kamui little information, though it is unclear how useful this information would have been in the long run anyway. Her death results in Kamui possessing the second sword as well as his decision to become a Dragon of Heaven.
Within the Dragons of Heaven the two characters who have the greatest impact on Kamui are Sorata and Subaru. Sorata and Kamui share a fairly straight forward and uncomplicated relationship, even though it had a rather rocky start. Sorata clearly likes Kamui, and uses his considerable arsenal of charm, dedication, and personal insight to guide and aid his younger companion. Kamui, despite his considerable misgivings when they first met, trusts Sorata and relies on his leadership and affection to keep moving forward. It helps that Sorata is very open about his affection for Kamui as a comrade and he demonstrates it clearly in both his words and actions. Kamui can almost not help but respond to his friendship. Subaru, on the other hand, while clearly very important to Kamui, is a much more complicated case in part because neither guy is particularly open about their own feelings. As a result, their relationship is largely a matter of conjecture.
To some extent, Kamui and Subaru are rather similar. Both had very few strong connections with other people, but the ones they did have were incredibly deep and intimate. Kamui grew up in isolation with only his mother, except for the time he spent with the Monou family. Because of this, his mother, Fuma, and Kotori were the center of his world, even if he could not be with them. In the end, he is an orphan with no family at all. Subaru was raised from a very young age by a rather formal grandmother whose affection could only be demonstrated in limited ways, and he appears to have had little to no contact with his parents. His most precious relationship, until he met Seishiro, was with his twin sister Hokuto, who was far more outgoing and spirited than her brother. Kamui and Subaru were both raised in families where psychic (or spiritual) power was understood and promoted--both were raised with the understanding that they would be powerful practitioners of their crafts (for lack of a better term). Both experience horrible tragedies due to the deaths of those they love at the hands of another that they also trust and love.
Both are introverted and struggle with their own feelings. Kamui seems to have trouble with feelings in general and struggles to understand other people as well. This is clear when Kamui refuses to eat with the other Seals because he thinks seeing him will make them uncomfortable, not understanding that his absence was upsetting them. According to Hokuto, Subaru understands other people, but did not know his own heart. Actually acknowledging that he loved Seishiro was a huge struggle for him.
Subaru first met Kamui when he was at his lowest point--he had just been betrayed and nearly murdered by his best friend, plus witnessed the grisly death of his other best friend. That was one hell of a Monday. In his distress, Kamui closes himself off from the world and goes comatose--alive and awake, but completely gone in any functional sense. Subaru is familiar with this state considering he had experienced a similar one nearly nine years previously when a similar traumatic incident occurred. At the time, Seishiro, a man he had counted on as a friend and grown to love, revealed that he was an assassin who had marked Subaru as his prey when Subaru was only a child. He was the head of a clan of onmyouji that exists in opposition to the Sumeragi clan and had been lying to Subaru the entire time they were friends. Subaru went into an emotional coma and when he finally came out of it because of the shock of Hokuto's death, he realized that Seishiro had killed her.
Having endured such misery, Subaru was uniquely positioned to understand and sympathize with Kamui, yet was also experienced enough to know that staying in that state would probably not make the younger man happy. Using a spell known only to the Sumeragi clan, he enters Kamui's consciousness, battling his defenses as he sinks deeper in, and ultimately convinces him to return to the living world. He does so not by assuring him that everything will get better or invoking an obligation to save humanity regardless of his personal suffering; he simply states that Kamui cannot change anything if he does not face the world. In reality, that is probably the only argument that had a chance of convincing Kamui to wake up.
Subaru lose his right eye
Due most likely to their similar personalities and situations, Subaru and Kamui understand each other quite well. When he is hurt protecting Kamui, Subaru knows that Kamui will torture himself with guilt over the injury and tries to convince him not to do so. When Seishiro dies in Subaru's arms, Kamui knows that he probably wanted to die there as well, but decides to rescue him anyway. Subaru, after spending some time with Dark Kamui, comes to understand Kamui's true wish and urges him to realize it before it is too late. They both have wishes that they know will make others unhappy, but they pursue those wishes anyway, and neither reproaches the other for doing so.
Kamui visits Subaru in the hospital
Kamui certainly seems to care about Subaru as more than just a member of the same team, even if he never actually refers to him as a friend. He worries about his wellbeing and misses him when he is gone. When Subaru is injured, he remains at his bedside almost obsessively until Sorata and Subaru work together to convince him to get some rest. On the other hand, Kamui also worries that he is a burden and that he asks too much of Subaru, even when simply asking him to tutor him on a few subjects for school (since Sorata is hilariously bad at that task). Even though this is one of his few intimate relationships, he still cannot quite accept that another person might like him and genuinely want his company.
One thing is very clear when looking at Kamui's relationships, both before and after his decision to join the Dragons of Heaven--and that is that Kamui was horribly starved for affection and trust. Even though the Dragons of Heaven clearly care about him, he struggles to call them friends, because he is unsure of their relationship. It takes even Sorata, one of the friendliest guys in the entire series, all of his charm and determination to finally gain Kamui's trust. Subaru literally enters his mind and risks being killed in order to form a connection with him. The only thing that keeps Kamui connected to the Earth and even his own life are the connections he shares with other people, and both connections and people, as the series clearly demonstrates, are both fragile and precious things.
For his part, Subaru seems to like Kamui as well. It could be that he simply helps Kamui because he is the key to protecting the Earth, but that would only explain why he helps him in battle. There was no reason for him, for example, to help Kamui tie his tie when his hand was injured unless he actually cared enough about him to want to do so. Furthermore, it would be extremely uncharacteristic of Subaru to use another person in that way. Subaru has always been compassionate and caring, and his concern for Kamui shows that his relationship with Seishirou may have damaged him in some ways, but he remains fundamentally kindhearted. Even though Subaru ultimately leaves the Dragons of Heaven for the Dragons of Earth to take Seishiro's place, Dark Kamui observes, "You seem to care about Kamui. Not me… the other one." (vol 18) If anybody would know something like that, it would be Dark Kamui.
Despite the fact that their relationship is fairly close, neither Kamui nor Subaru is the other person's most important person--the person for whom the other wants to preserve the Earth. That does not mean, however, that each does not care about the other or that their relationship is somehow absent. It is possible to care about someone even if you care about someone else more, and they both seem to understand that. Even though they never say it directly, their actions and feelings towards each other suggest that they, on some level, are friends.
There is nothing fake or pretentious about Yuzuriha, she is enthusiastic, kind hearted, and personable. This makes her an interesting contrast with Kamui, especially at the beginning of the series, who acts withdrawn, callous, and generally hostile. Her and her spirit dog, Inuki, appear for the first time during a particularly tense episode in which Kamui is prepared to attack Hinoto and the others. Her sudden appearance, as well as her casual, somewhat silly demeanor defuses the situation. Even though Kamui eventually lets go of his general hostility towards the others, he struggles with expressing his feelings about them. Yuzuriha, on the other hand, is very open with her feelings, even to the extent of admitting her love for a man several years her senior, who also happens to be a Dragon of Earth.
Still, they have certain commonality, which is the loneliness of their childhoods. While Yuzuriha was never without a friend because of her spirit dog, the reality was that the other kids around her could not see him and thought she was lying. This accusation hurt the incredibly honest young girl, so when she was told that she would one day meet other people who would be able to see Inuki, she was pleased. Having people not trust her word or not being able to share that part of herself made her rather lonely. Kamui, likewise, had very few friends and those that he did, Fuma and Kotori, had to be kept at a distance for their own safety.
Although her power is spiritual, in the form of Inuki, like Arashi, she is a sword wielder. In one fight, when she cannot tell Satsuki, a Dragon of Earth, a reason why killing people is wrong, Satsuki responds by killing Inuki, which sends her into a depression. Still, she manages to recover and, through the force of her will, creates a new spirit dog she also names Inuki. While she is not the strongest of the Dragons of Heaven, Yuzuriha is unique in that she is the only person who has ever made Dark Kamui back down from a fight because her wish to live was so strong that he could not kill her. She wants to protect the others on her team, even to the point of making both Subaru and Kamui promise her that they will call on her if they ever need help.
Unlike Sorata, who wins people over through his capacity for personal insight and understanding just what a person needs at any given time, Yuzuriha wins people over by completely pouring her heart out to them. It’s in this way that she finally manages to win over Kamui, and her arrival marks a decline in Kamui’s open hostility. Like many of the others, Yuzuriha sees her role in the End of the World as a chance to escape her loneliness, which influences her relationship with Kamui, but really, she likes him for who he is. She sees him as a kind hearted person and she empathizes with his situation, even if she doesn’t understand it fully. Although Kamui never says it directly, he appears to care about Yuzuriha, and worries about her when she disappears after losing Inuki. In a way, the two are like brother and sister, with Yuzuriha as the younger sister who both looks up to and inspires her older, more repressed brother.
Karen would watch the house were Kamui once lived and wonder what he would be like. For Karen, Kamui represents a sense of purpose in her life--he is someone for whom she can give up her life. She sees her life as fundamentally less valuable than his, especially since he is so young, and has, at times, tried to fight on her own so that the others did not have to put their lives on the line. Seiichiro berates her for this and encourages her to see the true value of her life. She sympathizes with Kamui and encourages him to follow his heart even if it will make other people unhappy. As for Kamui, he has very little interaction with her, but he does seem to care about her in general, as he cares about the other members of his team.
Kamui rarely interacts with Karen, until the day of the final battle in which they, and two companions, go to fight against Dark Kamui, formerly known as Fuma. Still, before his return to Tokyo, Karen watched the burned remains of his childhood home, wondering what he would be like when they would meet. Kamui is a part of Karen’s destiny and a part of the greater purpose in her life, so she feels a certain kinship with him. Her tender heart also responds to the sadness that surrounds him, so she acts very motherly towards him, gently caressing his face in times of sorrow and telling him everything will be OK. She was once a lonely child as well, so she gives Kamui the affection she was denied when she was very young. Karen ultimately wants to protect humanity, but she also wants Kamui to realize his true wish. She knows that he will only be able to win the battle if he finds out what his heart truly desires.
Kamui has little time to spare worrying about Karen, but he certainly cares about her and considers her a dear comrade. He feels bad for Karen after Kazuki's death, most likely because she was important to Karen and he wants to console her during her time of sorrow. Now that they are facing the final battle, Kamui will have to rely on Karen’s courage and strength to help him as he tries to come to terms with his heart’s true wish.
Seiichiro seems to care about Kamui in a general sense, but he has even less interaction with him than Karen, who actually has one private conversation with him. It is rather hard to say what influence they have on each other, but they do have a certain contrast that is interesting. Seiichiro is a family man and a generally optimistic person, where as Kamui never knew his father and his experiences have made him rather downcast in his outlook. Seiichiro represents another possibility--the potential for a stable family and a generally happy life filled with common tasks rather than massive responsibilities. Or perhaps his role in the story suggests that family and common life are responsibilities as well that have their own intrinsic value.
Hinoto, sometimes called Princess Hinoto, is a dream seer who has lived her entire life in the basement of the Diet Building and has visions of the end of the world and sees Kamui's role in this future. She is a known liar and manipulator, but the Dragons of Heaven have only recently (in canon terms) learned the extent of her betrayal. In reality, she has been manipulating both sides from the very beginning, mostly for the purpose of sabotaging Kamui. Apparently Hinoto wishes for death, while her dark side wants to survive the final battle and see Kamui die.
At first, Kamui does not trust her, which makes sense because she lies to him about the possibility of saving Kotori and also withholds important information. He later softens towards her and does not blame her for Kotori's death, even though she was fairly responsible for it. He does figure out that she has a dark side, but thus far he has done nothing about it but ask Sorata to keep an eye on her.
Hinoto's character, particularly with her evil side and her series long lies and manipulations, remains fairly opaque, so it is difficult to say how she feels about Kamui. It seems that she is hoping that he will be able to kill her before her plan to destroy the world comes to fruition, but her evil side insists that Kamui will die and the world will fall.
When Princess Hinoto takes Kamui into her dreamscape to show him the future, Kanoe also appears and tries to persuade him to join her side. She fails to do so, but she also begins to realize that there is another Kamui who will become an Angel if the first Kamui chooses to become a Seal. Aside from trying to get him to join her cause, she has almost no contact with him.
Although she is the person who brought the Angels together, she has little say in their activities and her general impact on the story diminishes over time. In fact, Hinoto does more to aid the Angels than Kanoe. In the manga, Hinoto tries to contact her but the evil part of Hinoto kills Kanoe. Kamui finds out that she is dead and blames the murder on Dark Kamui, who appears to be the likely culprit, but Dark Kamui appears disappointed that Kamui would blame him for the crime.
Keiichi is a student at CLAMP Campus who takes a particular liking to Kamui and becomes his friend. He is one of the very few characters in the story who has no power or connection to the end of the world, other than being a victim of disasters. Keiichi is very energetic and cheerful, almost to the point of silliness, making him a very interesting contrast to Kamui. Earthquakes bother him because he initially lost his father in an earthquake and, after having Kamui over for dinner one night, he also loses his mother in an earthquake related fire -- an earthquake Kamui was unable to prevent because he could not create a kekkai. Keiichi wishes that he had the power to prevent earthquakes since people are helpless once an earthquake starts -- a point that hits close to home for Kamui, who has been unable to create a kekkai. Even after losing both of his parents, Keiichi remains optimistic and devotes himself to enjoying life enough for himself and his departed parents.
Kamui made a short appearance in Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE but he represents one of the major roles. Kamui has a different persona and different details unlike in X/1999.
Quotes[]
Anime[]
Don't get involved with me. (Episode 1: A Reunion)
Why just don't give what's mine? (Episode 1: A Reunion)
Are you trying to make me a late student on his first day on his new school? (Episode 1: A Reunion)
I told you to come and die if you want to have a fight with me. Eavesdropping, it despite me! (Episode 1: A Reunion)
How long would you go on eavesdropping? (Episode 1: A Reunion)
I will never let go... Ever... (Episode 2: A Nightmare)
Have you come to seek revenge for your friend? (Episode 2: A Nightmare)
It might be fun for you, but it's unpleasant for me. (Episode 2: A Nightmare)
'I'll prove you that there's no need to prove it because I am the one and only Kamui. (Episode 2: A Nightmare)
I've wasted enough time on you. (Episode 2: A Nightmare)
Yeah, I am up to something. So don't get involved with me. (Episode 2: A Nightmare)
Are you saying that you are on my side because you are a Buddhist monk? (Episode 3: A Pledge)
(To Fuma Monou) I forgot all about it. And you should to, never do anything to anyone if you don't have to. That's our new promise from now on. (Episode 3: A Pledge)
(To Princess Hinoto) Saving the world is not my concern. I don't have interest of becoming a Dragon of Heaven or Earth. The thing is that why you didn't hand the shinken at once. (Episode 5: A Destiny)
I only bring tragedy to those people around me. (Episode 12: Alternative)
I need to let it go, or else, I'll continue to do things that I'll regret later. (Volume 12)
We can't blame ourselves for the things we did not do. (Volume 12)
Etymology[]
The name Kamui means "god, deity" (神) (kamu) and "prestige, authority, power, dignity, influence, vigor, merit, stature, virtue, pride, dominance/domination, ascendance/ascendancy/ascendence/ascendency, impression, in, mastery, potence/potency, lordship, grasp, control, whip hand, might, force, vis, puissance" (威) (i).
Kamui's first name is spelled as 神威; which would usually be read as Shin'i not as カムイ; which would be read as Kamui in romaji. However Japanese names do not always follow conventional pronunciation rules. While Kamui's last name is spelled as 司狼; which literally means Director/Leader Wolf . Kamui's name is not just any ordinary name like those given to other characters in the series. His name has its own purpose that fits not only his character but also his destiny.
His given name 神威 is composed of two kanji: the first being 神 which is read as "kami" for 'God(s)' and the second which is 威 which is read as "i" for 'Authority'. Kamui's name written as 神威 means 'God's Authority, or The Might of Heaven'. While, his name also has an opposite meaning which could be interpreted as "the one who holds the authority of God's will and the power to destroy the world".
Kamui's surname Shiro means "officer, boss" (司) (shi) and "wolf" (狼) (ro).
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