Musashi (ムサシ Musashi) is a supporting character of the Nanbaka Web Manga and Anime. He is a former cellmate of Jyugo[1] and an inmate of Nanba Prison, having been falsely accused and arrested on charges of arson and murder.[2] Initially held in cell ten of building four, he is temporarily held in an underground cell in solitude after resisting arrest during the New Year's Tournament[3] before being returned to regular confinement.[4]
Appearance[]
Musashi is a young man of above-average height with a muscular physique. He has short, spiky red and yellow hair and cobalt blue eyes. Having lost both his eyes in his teens,[5][6] he now wears a black eyepatch over the remaining scars, the most prominent of which is a long, vertical one over his right eye. A second, smaller scar is visible to the left side of his lips. His skin, which was initially somewhat pale, has become dark likely due to excessive exposure to heat. Musashi bears multiple piercings; a large gold hoop in each ear, a third hoop on his left nipple, and four studs on each collarbone. He has black phoenix tattoos on each shoulder blade and his inmate number, 634, tattooed on his left shoulder. His nails are painted red.
Musashi wears a red-and-black striped skirt-like garment that reaches his ankles. His ID badge is pinned to the upper left-hand side. The rest of his body remains exposed, except for his abdomen, forearms, neck, and feet wrapped in black bandages.
Personality[]
During his childhood, Musashi was a warm and optimistic boy. He took great pride in the additional body heat he was born with, considering it to be a unique and special trait.[7] He is also a highly intelligent individual and studied with great dedication during his time in college, consistently receiving high grades.[8] However, incidents such as his convalescence from spontaneous human combustion, as well as the following social isolation caused by a rumor that he was an arsonist, caused him to lose his cheerful outlook and develop a withdrawn, anxious personality such that he was constantly in fear.[7] After being falsely accused of murdering his parents, he seemed to lose hope entirely such that he was glad to be in jail where he had no further responsibilities.[2]
After being experimented on and given superhuman powers by the people responsible for his parents’ deaths, Musashi believed himself to be a monster and ultimately renounced his humanity, developing a certain amount of misanthropy.[5] He sought desperately to kill the man with the scar, willing to do so even if he died himself in the process; he stated that the prospect of revenge was the only thing he lived for.[5] This thirst for vengeance allowed him to behave quite ruthlessly towards others without remorse; first displayed as an arrogant, rude and ambitious individual, he attempted to kill multiple Nanba Prison supervisors as well as Jyugo in the hopes of getting what he wanted.[3] His belief that he could overpower and murder even the strongest of Nanba's guards indicates that he has great confidence in his abilities and a strong disregard for others.
After being defeated and questioned by Kenshirou, Musashi mellows out considerably. As he himself puts it, his way of thinking changes[9] and he develops a calmer personality, displaying a genuine desire to start again and become a better person.[10] He becomes more talkative and cooperative, openly talking about his past and feelings, suggesting that he has become far more relaxed and trusting; this is exemplified by the highly relaxed, informal dialogue that he begins to speak in. While he is typically calm in nature, he admits to becoming nervous at the thought of talking to others.[11] Despite this, he makes an effort to do so and typically enjoys himself in the company of his fellow inmates. He has a significant amount of sympathy and compassion for others and is highly perceptive.
Background[]
Born and raised in Germany, Musashi was born with a slightly higher body temperature than average. He was proud of this trait, especially as his parents told him it came from the sun; however, one day, the heat became stronger and seemed to burn him from the inside. The doctors found nothing wrong with him, but he remained anxious and suffered chronic nightmares for some time. He managed to overcome his fears enough to attend college, where he studied diligently and constantly received high grades. However, at some point, his entire body became unexpectedly engulfed in flames, and he was hospitalized. The doctors suggested the phenomenon was spontaneous human combustion but had no knowledge of its cause or cures. Despite Musashi’s anxiety, his parents’ constant smiles and reassurance gave him the courage to face his fears and continue living.
After a year of recovering from the incident, Musashi returned to college. On his arrival, a fellow student spread a rumor that he was a dangerous arsonist, causing students to fear him. Eventually asked to transfer, Musashi fled home in the hopes of receiving hope and support from his parents but instead found that his house was on fire.[7] He attempted to run into the building to save his parents, but was restrained and told it was too late. As he grieved, the student from his college announced that Musashi was the one responsible for the arson. He attempted to deny it, deducing that it was the student’s fault, and resisted arrest; as he did so, his body combusted again leaving him injured. Called a monster by the onlookers, Musashi lost the will to fight and was arrested and imprisoned in a prison in East Germany.
There, Musashi was approached by the Man with the Scar who offered to fix his condition.[2] Instead, he experimented on him and amplified his abilities, giving him the power to control flame at will without suffering any damage. Angered, he berated the officers stating that he didn't want such abilities; he was quickly shut down by Elf, who Musashi recognized as the student who had spread rumors about. As he assaulted him, Elf explained that Musashi caught their interest so they framed him to they could experiment on him without anyone caring. Furious, Musashi tried to kill the surrounding officers with his flames, only for the man with the scar to cut through them with a blade. Informing him that he was no longer needed, the officer turned his blade on Musashi and sliced out one of his eyes. As he and Elf departed, they burned down the prison to dispose of the evidence. Surviving the fire, Musashi emerged from the flames and renounced his humanity, vowing to kill the man with the scar no matter what the consequences.[12]
Musashi was subsequently transferred to another prison. There, he was soon made cellmates with Jyugo whose careless actions resulted in frequent beatings from the guards. As the prison’s medical care was poor, Musashi treated his wounds for him but insisted that he didn’t want the two of them to be friends, even telling Jyugo not to talk to him. Jyugo ignored his request and claimed that the two were similar and that Musashi didn't seem to be a criminal or even a bad person, much to his confusion.[13]
One night, while the two were sneaking out to access the library for a book Musashi wanted, a fire broke out. Musashi believed it to be members of Shiki coming after him, and urged Jyugo to not follow him as he ran in one direction. In the stress and confusion of the fire, Jyugo was briefly taken over by Elf, who recognized Musashi as a discarded 'Sample' to be used as a training dummy. Musashi recognized the stance and aura around Jyugo, and realized he was Elf - or at least on the side of Elf. Outraged by the perceived betrayal, he attacked Jyugo, at which point Elf released Jyugo, leaving the boy confused and without memories as Musashi ranted about how his life had been ruined by the people who followed the Man With The Scar, and made it clear he intended to kill Jyugo for his shackles. In the following altercation, Elf took back over, and blinded Musashi. The fire at the prison meant that all the inmates were transferred to other prisons.[14]
Eventually, Musashi was transferred to Nanba Prison's Building Four.
Plot[]
The New Year's Tournament Arc[]
In the New Year's Tournament, Musashi was entered as the sole inmate representative of Building Four. Due to his blindness and lack of fighting experience, he allowed Supervisor Yozakura to handle most of the events, until the Sake Opening Final Round. Here, Jyugo recognized Musashi, and called the man out for ruining his life.
While Hajime and Yozakura were fighting, Musashi apprehended Jyugo. Quickly, he escalated the fight, calling out Jyugo's current lack of ferocity. Eventually, he revealed his disinterest in winning the New Year's Tournament, and instead announced his intent to take Jyugo's shackles. To provoke Jyugo further, he revealed his flames, attacking the boy with them and setting a lot of the stadium on fire. In response, Jyugo fell into a rage and revealed the bladed form of his shackles.
Recognizing the unforeseen threats, Warden Hyakushiki called for a change of priorities, and Supervisors Gokuu Samon, Mitsuba Kiji, and Yozakura Kenshirou captured Musashi with some effort.[15]
Upon being brought back into custody, the doctor of Nanba Prison implanted a computer chip in Musashi that sensed when he was attempting to give off heat, and shut off his ability. This chip made it impossible for him to use his ability, and so Musashi gave up on finding the true identity of the Man With A Scar. Instead, he requested to talk to Jyugo, while both were locked in their respective Building's underground prison cells.
In this monitored call, Musashi told Jyugo about how he received his powers, and his history with the Man With A Scar. He also revealed to Jyugo that the Man With A Scar had the same shackles he did. Then, he entrusted his mission of revenge to Jyugo, though the jailbreaker didn't realize it at the time.
Building 5 Arc[]
Reminiscence of the Past[]
Despite Jyugo having been taken over by Elf and blinding Musashi, Musashi stated that there was a reason he could never bring himself to hate Jyugo. That was because Jyugo was one of the only ones who didn't call Musashi a monster and compared his warm hands to feel like the sun.
Trivia[]
- Musashi's name is a reference to his ID number, with ム mu meaning "six", サ sa meaning "three" and シ shi, meaning "four".
- His name could be taken from Miyamoto Musashi, author of The Book of Five Rings and a renowned Japanese swordsman.
- Jyugo was the one that blinded Musashi
- The vertical scar around his right eye was given by Man with the Scar
- According to Musashi's character card;
- He likes his family, studying and hong dou tang.
- He dislikes are malicious gossip, chocolate and frogs.
- His hobbies include afternoon naps, chess, and collecting reference books.
- Musashi wanted to be an interpreter and mastered Braille interpretation in college. He can speak approximately 40 different languages.[8]
References[]
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 22
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 31
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 23
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 237
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 33
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 23
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 30
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 34
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 56
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 104
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 58
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 33
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Nanga, Chapter 182
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga Chapter 183-186
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga Chapters 23-25