Sekirei

The Sekirei Crest

The Sekirei are extraterrestrial super-powered beings with genetic code similar to humans. Once in the past 8 Sekirei spaceships ("Iwafune", lit. 'Rock Ship' , the name of the ship used when gods head down from the heaven to the surface world in Japanese mythology) reached earth of which at least one suffered severe damage and only the "Pillar" and 8 Sekirei survived. Another spaceship, the one which carried the current Sekirei, crashed in the sea near Japan and thousand years later an island called Kamikura emerged suddenly which was discovered in 1999 by the two students Minaka Hiroto (future MBI chairman) and Takami Sahashi (future MBI head researcher and Minato's mother). Onboard the spaceship found on that island were 108 life-forms (described as "One pillar and 107 baby birds").

• The first of them (a pillar, shown as #01) was an adult, and it is not a Sekirei.
• Eight (later known as #02-09) were embryos.
• 99 others (later known as #10-108) were fertilized eggs.

The Sekirei's development

The adult and eight embryos are also known as the Single Numbers. It is hinted, that unwinged Single Numbers are equal or even more powerful than winged others. All Sekirei have undergone adjustments for the "Sekirei Plan", especially the Single Numbers (some of their adjustments were mischievous). Adjustments to Sekirei's are needed to control and stabilize their power. In this process however MBI fitted all Sekirei with a limiter reducing their strength significantly. Most Sekirei only knew about the world through TV because they never were allowed to leave Kamikura Island. The first contact with the outside world they made was when they were sent out to find their Ashikabi. When the so called wings of the Sekirei are released by the Ashikabi, the power of a Sekirei multiplies and he/she can use his/her true potential. Miya stated that Sekirei are interesting beings because ordinary training wouldn't do much for raising their abilities, but according to the state of their heart their soul manifests itself through their ability. Anger, hatred, joy, sorrow and overall their feelings of love influences their abilities and let them get stronger. This is further indicated by a statement of Musubi explaining to Toyotama their difference in strength. According to her, she lost the fight simply because the lack of love in her relationship towards her Ashikabi. Thus implying love is a crucial element to gain strength for Sekirei.

The Sekirei's battle abilities and rules

Sekirei have a strong ability called a Norito. To utilize this, they need to confirm the bond they share with the Ashikabi through a kiss and recite a prayer. Each Sekirei has their own unique Noritos and prayers. Multiple Sekirei that are under the same Ashikabi can also merge their techniques in order to create more powerful techniques. This puts most Ashikabi at a disadvantage, as only a few Ashikabi posses more than one Sekirei. An important rule for every Sekirei is, that if a Sekirei is terminated the winner has to guard the corpse till MBI arrives and recovers the body. It was shown in the manga that if a Sekirei doesn't follow this rule and refuses to show her respect to the loser other Sekirei might try to punish her. Musubi stated that the reward for the last remaining Sekirei of the game (Sekirei Plan) is that the Sekirei can be with their favorite person (Ashikabi) forever.

Sekirei's Physiology

The physiology of a Sekirei are similar to humans but have significant differences. Most Sekireis have greater strength, speed, and stamina than any human being. They have similar requirements for their bodies like humans do; they need to eat food, drink water, and breathe air. The most important part of the Sekirei's body is the Sekirei Core, the source of a Sekirei's power and the life of a Sekirei. Sekireis who lost their core cease to function. Their bodies are capable of reproduction with humans, some of the Sekireis gave birth to children with an Ashikabi in the past. In order to terminate a Sekirei, a fixed amount of damage inflicted to her is needed or the Sekirei opponent needs to touch the Sekirei Crest and recite a spell (Norito). Then the Sekirei crest disappears and a Sekirei whose crest has disappeared can't function. The amount of damage a Sekirei received is categorized in 5 shutdown levels. Going from 1 - 5 (1 being the simple damage with 5 being the most serious) the more severe was the damage taken which caused the termination of the Sekirei. According to Natsuo Ichinomi, as long as terminated Sekirei don't approach their 'Death' as living creatures, they can be put to sleep after special surgery according to the termination level. After that they are sent to a special facility, their body still alive. But a living body doesn't mean the Sekirei isn't dead, the loss of the Sekirei crest equals death for a Sekirei. The only hope to fix this "broken bonds" is in the last remaining Ashikabi and the Jinki .

Ashikabi

There are four main Ashikabi whose power is supposedly above that of the other Ashikabis. There is one in each area of the city and are named for the area they rule over. Originally there were 3 main Ashikabis (East - Higa Izumi, South - Hayato Mikogami, West Sanada Nishi), however, Minato became known as the Ashikabi of the North after winging his 5th and 6th Sekirei. Most Ashikabis, however, only have one Sekirei and the four main Ashikabis are exceptions to this. Only Ashikabis can "wing" Sekirei, usually done through a kiss (exchange of saliva). The power's of an Ashikabi increase with the amount of Sekirei that they wing. One important part of the Ashikabi-Sekirei relationship is the fact that when an Ashikabi is killed, all of the Sekirei that they have winged are 'terminated'. This is supposed to be classified information, however, most Sekirei and many Ashikabi know about it anyway. One part of the bond between Sekirei and Ashikabi is that they can feel each others feelings. For example, when Musubi's crest disappears and Minato becomes sad and starts crying, Tsukiumi and Kazehana (who wasn't winged at the time) feel his pain. Kusano who is far off at Izumo Inn immediately knows what happened and it is implied that Matsu also can feel Minato's feelings. The feelings of the Sekirei can also be felt in return by the Ashikabi.

List of Sekirei

Sekirei No.	Name	Ashikabi	Status
1	Miya Asama	none	alive
2	Matsu	Minato Sahashi	alive
3	Kazehana	Minato Sahashi	alive
4	Karasuba	Natsuo Ichinomi	alive
5	Mutsu	Hayato Mikogami	alive
6	Homura	Minato Sahashi	alive
7	Akitsu	none (work to Hayato Mikogami)	alive/discarded
8	Yume	Minato Sahashi	alive
9	Tsukiumi	Minato Sahashi	alive
10	Uzume	Chiho Hidaka	terminated
11	Hikari	Seo Kaoru	alive
12	Hibiki	Seo Kaoru	alive
13	Amebane	Yashiro Itsuki	terminated
15	Himeko	Hayato Mikogami	alive
16	Toyotama	Higa Izumi	terminated
18	Ichiya	Higa Izumi	alive
19	Ikki	unknown	terminated
22	Kochou	Higa Izumi	alive
27	Nina	Mutou	alive
28	Natsuka	unknown	alive
31	Sai	Higa Izumi	terminated
37	unknown	unknown
38	Mitsuha	Hayato Mikogami	terminated
39	Mitsuki	Hayato Mikogami	alive
40	Shi	Higa Izumi	terminated
43	Yomi	Hayato Mikogami	terminated
44 54	Yosuga Kuruse*	unknown "Minato Sahashi"	unknown
55 57	Saki Yahan*	unknown Reiji Koya	unknown unknown
62	Kaie	Higa Izumi	alive
65	Taki	Hayato Mikogami	alive
72	Natsu*	unknown	terminated
73	Namiji	Takano Kouji	terminated
74	Narashino	Tsudanuma Osamu	alive
75	Niwa	unknown
78	Nanami	Himura Youichi	terminated
79	unknown	Higa Izumi	terminated
82	Hari	Kunimitsu Hiroyuki‎	alive
84	Yashima	Junichi Tanigawa	terminated
86	Katsuragi	Higa Izumi	terminated
87	Kaho	Oosumi Orihiko	alive
88	Musubi	Minato Sahashi	alive
95	Kuno	Haruka Shigi	alive
101	Oriha	Higa Izumi	terminated
104	Haihane	Natsuo Ichinomi	alive
105	Benitsubasa	Natsuo Ichinomi	alive
107	Shiina	Yukari Sahashi	alive
108	Kusano	Minato Sahashi	alive
?	unknown	Higa Izumi	terminated
?	unknown	unknown
?	Kuzuri	Sanada Nishi	alive
?	Kujika	Sanada Nishi	alive
?	Shijime	Sanada Nishi	alive
?	Oshino	Higa Izumi	terminated
?	Kujou	Higa Izumi	terminated
?	Mimi	Mutou	terminated
?	Midorino	unknown	terminated
Total: 58	!	Total: 18	!

*A Sekirei using throwing knife's to fight, terminated by Uzume. (In the anime episode 8 you can shortly see her data on one of Matsu's screens. Her name is Natsu No #72. No information about her in the Manga) *Both Kuruse and Yahan are characters within the Japanese only game Sekirei: Gifts from the Future. As such, their status in the manga's continuity is unknown.

18 more Sekirei were terminated during the failed mass escape plan

Trivia

• Sekirei, or wagtails are also important in Japanese mythology and folklore. They are sacred to the two divine gods Izanagi and Izanami (Goddess of creation and death), for it was through these birds that these divinities first learned the art of love. Yume also refers to this Myth in a flashback.