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Higa Izumi
Yu tisima golfina
Profile
Japanese Name

比嘉 泉

Age Unknown, presumed mid-late 20s
Occupation Company heir and businessman
Gender Male
Voice Actors
Seiyū Takuma Takewaka (Season 1)
Junichi Suwabe (Season 2)
English Jerry Jewell
Image Gallery

Higa Izumi, aka the Ashikabi of the East, is the Ashikabi who controls the eastern sector of Shinto Teito. He is also the CEO of Hiyamakai Enterprises which owns Hiyamakai Hospital[1][2], where he holds the severely ill Chiho hostage in order to blackmail her Sekirei Uzume, having her do his bidding in exchange for Chiho's continued treatment. He has winged a large number of Sekirei himself (at least twelve), and additionally has several Ashikabi (with their own respective Sekirei) that serve under him. The only one revealed to be of any importance to Higa is his close friend and secretary, Kakizaki.[2] Others were bribed into fighting Minato by Higa's promise of help in escaping the city during the 4th match of the Third Stage.[3]

Higa later confronted Sahashi Yukari and Shiina, or rather, his Sekirei did, leading to Higa taking Yukari prisoner (also asking her to marry him) but she managed to escape some time later. When Yukari berates him for breaking the rules of the Sekirei Plan, Izumi simply remarks that he has no interest in being associated with such a 'farce'.[4]

During the third match of the Third Stage, he meets Minato, and asks him to join forces against MBI, which he declines, increasing Higa's animosity towards the Northern Ashikabi.[5] Later it is revealed that he treats the "winging" as nothing else than a simple business contract and thus unknowingly reduces the strength of his Sekirei.[6]

Appearance[]

Higa is a young gentleman of average height and build, seemingly in his mid-late 20s, usually seen wearing an elaborate, pure white suit with a white dress shirt underneath the jacket, a black tie, matching dress pants, and black dress shoes. He has short white or blond hair (brown in the anime), and grey eyes. He seems to generally be considered very good looking, seemingly in a somewhat androgynous way, as Sahashi Yukari described him as a handsome bishounen after their first meeting.

Personality[]

Higa usually maintains a stern, serious, and stoic demeanor, and he is shown to be observant towards friend or foe in order to gather information for his own advancement. One of his most prominent characteristics is his known hate and disdain towards Sekirei, and he can be rather amoral, having no qualms about forcing Sekirei apart from his own into obeying him and turning them against each other and even their own Ashikabi, with carefully constructed traps and lies. His motives reveal his intent to use his Sekirei and other allies to wage war with MBI, largely for professional purposes, namely the advancement of his own company. His hatred, revulsion, casual dismissiveness, and condescension towards Sekirei somewhat mirrors Karasuba's similar feelings towards humans, with both seeing the other race as unworthy of their time, and an inconvenient blight on Earth. He doesn't tolerate his Sekirei disobeying him, and seems to derive some semblance of satisfaction from seeing his Sekirei in pain and anguish, as seen from how he treated Oriha in the moments before her termination.[7] He was also shown to have barely registered Oshino and Kujou's terminations, and it was suspected by Mutsu and Mikogami that he chose the aforementioned Sekirei and Oriha for his Third Stage match to deliberately have them terminated, likely for being amongst his weaker, clingier, and more emotional Sekirei. Shi, Sai, and Katsuragi's terminations also seemed to have minimally affected him beyond the loss of assets. He even goes so far as to take other Ashikabi hostage, later forcing their Sekirei to obey him. This makes it possible for him to break the Plan's rules with only minimal traces which could indicate his involvement into the immoral actions he has ordered.

He also posses a silver tongue as he preyed on Shina's insecurities in order to make him compliant, but against intelligent and perceptive individuals such as Minato, Seo, and Mikogami, his schemes (such as a proposed alliance with Minato which would likely end in betrayal) are often exposed for what they are.

During the Third Stage of the Sekirei Plan, it was pointed out by Mikogami that Higa was secretly jealous of Minato. To Higa, it was clear that both of them came from high standing families, but while Higa was burdened with all the "absurdity" of the adult world: his relatives, the family company, and his failure to change or escape his surroundings, Minato lived a basic, carefree, middle-class life, ignorant of his family's importance and status through his parents' findings and contributions. Higa has a loftier societal position, but Minato has more powerful Sekirei and easily gets in his way predominately due to this fact. According to Mikogami, Higa once had dreams apart from what he was forced into, and was likely a better person for it, but he gave up on them for the current "adult" outlook he has. It seemingly wasn't until it was pointed out that this outlook narrowed his vision and hindered him, that he was forced to confront it. This worldview and its consequences were concretely manifested through Higa's loss of Toyotama, one of his strongest Sekirei, to Musubi, one of Minato's strongest, in a match during his ordered raid on Izumo Inn. Even so, Higa and Toyotama's final moments together before her termination display minimal sadness or warmth on Higa's part, merely cold rage at his failure to best Minato's group, and a desire to "get" his terminated Sekirei "back."

During his confrontation with Minato during the Fourth Stage, he admits to having gone through a lot of turmoil and introspection which made him realize his responsibility for his own failings. When he found that Minato did not rely on his familial connections, and actually winged his Sekirei due to good luck, selflessness, and compassion, with no forced winging or nepotism involved, he was so exasperated by the misunderstanding, that he was brought to the realization that for all his intellectual gifts, he had been somewhat blind in his approach to the Plan and life as a whole. Despite this, he is still almost solely focused on his own objectives by the end of the Plan, albeit treating his Sekirei with more civility, leaving it somewhat up in the air as to whether or not he has truly acted on his moments of self-reflection.

Sekirei[]

Sekirei of other Ashikabi he controls[]

  • No. 22 Kochou serves him alongside her Ashikabi, Kakizaki   
  • No. 10 Uzume during the time her Ashikabi Chiho was held hostage by Higa (terminated by Sai)[10]
  • No. 107 Shiina (during the time Higa held his Ashikabi Yukari prisoner)

History[]

Not much is known of Higa Izumi's past except that he is the heir of pharmaceutical company Hiyamakai Enterprises[11] which rivals MBI and thus isn't on good terms with them, to the extent of attempting to block MBI's business ventures, and aligning themselves with other companies that do not approve of MBI's stranglehold on Japanese and international markets. Higa's father and grandfather are shown to have control over the company to an extent that frustrates and restricts Higa, as shown when he finally works up the courage to go against their wishes.

Synopsis[]

Higa is alluded to during Kakizaki and Uzume's interactions prior to his official introduction, and is established as a powerful individual of ill intent.

Yukari and Shiina are approached by Higa and his Sekirei Kochou and Katsuragi, seemingly on the basis of testing their capabilities, with Higa's true intentions being much more sinister.[12] During the free-for-all over the claim to Homura, Higa sends Kakizaki out with Oriha and Katsuragi, also using Uzume to meet his needs.[2] This later proves costly, as Oriha is injured, Katsuragi terminated, and Kakizaki is easily neutralized by Ku but escapes.[13]

Higa is also revealed to have been responsible for kidnapping Yukari due to threatening the life of Shiina, her Sekirei.[4] He attempts to turn the two against each other by isolating Yukari and brainwashing Shiina into believing that Yukari sees him as less desirable than Higa, a wealthy and powerful human that can provide a life for her that Shiina cannot. It is also revealed that he seeks to financially/fiscally cripple and physically ruin MBI in order to promote the interest of his family's company, and his above all else, calling the Sekirei Plan a means to an end and a "farce." Higa later acquires a Jinki (#2 of 8) by using Shiina and Uzume to ambush and terminate Namiji, as well as badly beat Takano Kouji, her Ashikabi, following their Third Stage victory.[14]

During their Third Stage match against each other and Natsuo, Higa proposals an alliance with Minato against MBI, claiming it is a course of action that best serves their mutual interest of ending the Sekirei Plan.[5] Higa is later confronted by Benitsubasa after Kujou and Oshino are terminated, but is (illegally) protected by Ichiya and Toyotama.[15] He powers up Oriha via a kiss and her Norito, but she is soundly defeated by an empowered Tsukiumi.[7]

After a confrontation with Uzume, Minato, who wins the match, discovers Higa's sinister ploy of blackmail and exploitation used against his friend and her Ashikabi, Chiho.[16]

As Minato and company concoct a plan to rescue and cure Chiho, Higa interrupts Uzume and Shiina's heart to heart by demanding that Uzume accompany his Sekirei to Izumo Inn in order to retrieve Minato's Jinki, using lethal force if necessary.[17] Higa's gambit fails disastrously, and he loses Shiina, Yukari, Chiho, Uzume, Shi, and Sai in a matter of hours.[18]

During the last match of the Third Stage, Higa travels with Kaiha, Kaie, Ichiya, Kakizaki, and Toyotama to Izumo Inn in a second raid attempt while also "paying off" desperate Ashikabi who wish to escape Teito with their Sekirei due to standing little to no chance of winning the plan.[19] By the end of Higa's two-pronged efforts, more of his allies are wiped out, Toyotama is terminated, and Mikogami humiliates (but also helps) him by questioning his values and motivations in front of Izumo Inn.[6]

A subdued and somewhat deflated Higa returns from the raid on Izumo Inn to his penthouse in shame; he has much to think about, having lost even more Sekirei in the failed attack and Mikogami's lecture forcing him to reevaluate his relationship with his Sekirei. He offers Kakizaki the chance to leave the capital, but Kakizaki refuses to abandon his friend. Higa then announces he will assume full control of his company and defy the wishes of the company's Board of Directors.[20] He later pulls his coup off succesfully.

During the Fourth Stage on Kamikura Island, Higa confronts Minato, venting much of his frustrations regarding Minato constantly besting him despite his perceived superiority, to which Minato simply tells him that he winged his Sekirei due to forging close bonds with them, and revealing that he didn't even know of his true heritage, which Higa thought he had exploited in order to meet and wing his Sekirei.[21] Higa's resolve to crush Minato once and for all is met with failure, and the fight against the invading army becomes the Ashikabi and Sekireis' new focus.

After the plan's conclusion with Minato as the victor, Higa does not re-wing most of the Sekirei that he lost to termination, such as Katsuragi and Shi, implied to be due to many of them being forcefully winged to begin with. He does however re-wing Toyotama and Kaie, and assists in the battle at Kamikura that takes place in the epilogue chapters.[22][23][24]

Anime and Manga differences[]

  • In the manga, he runs into Sahashi Minato for the first time during the Third Stage, specifically during their match. In the anime he's introduced at the hospital his company owns and Chiho is being kept in during in the Second Stage, and informs Minato that perhaps MBI could help save Chiho's life using the Sekirei technology at their disposal. While this makes him seem benevolent at face value, it becomes evident that Higa merely wanted MBI inconvenienced/damaged and Minato killed as the result of setting the two forces against each other.
  • In the manga, he kidnaps Sahashi Yukari to coerce Shiina into helping him in the same way he's forcing Uzume to do so (through Chiho). In the anime he has largely left her alone, at least comparatively.
  • While the anime doesn't seem to mention it directly, at least not until the end of season 2, in the manga Higa's corporation is a bitter rival of MBI. He also tasks Seo to hack into MBI's computers and steal important and sensitive data in the anime, whereas that doesn't happen in the manga.

References[]

  1. Sekirei Manga chapter 108
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sekirei Manga chapter 63
  3. Sekirei manga chapter 120
  4. 4.0 4.1 Sekirei Manga chapter 70
  5. 5.0 5.1 Sekirei Manga chapter 86
  6. 6.0 6.1 Sekirei Manga chapter 129
  7. 7.0 7.1 Sekirei Manga Chapter 94
  8. 8.0 8.1 Sekirei manga chapter 105
  9. Sekirei manga chapter 127
  10. Sekirei manga chapter 107
  11. Sekirei Manga chapter 100
  12. Sekirei Manga Chapter 59
  13. Sekirei Manga Chapter 67
  14. Sekirei Manga Chapter 81
  15. Sekirei Manga Chapter 90
  16. Sekirei Manga Chapter 98
  17. Sekirei Manga Chapter 101
  18. Sekirei Manga Chapter 111
  19. Sekirei Manga Chapter 126
  20. Sekirei Manga Chapter 134
  21. Sekirei Manga Chapters 156-59
  22. Sekirei Manga Chapter 182
  23. Sekirei Manga Chapters 185-187
  24. Sekirei Manga 365 Days Without Her
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