Noriko Shindayū Inue

Noriko Shindayū Inue
Tenjho Tenge character
Noriko Shindayū Inue in the manga
First appearance	Volume 13, Page 37
Created by	Oh! great

Noriko Shindayū Inue (犬江 新太夫 典子, Inue Shindayū Noriko^?) is a character in the manga series Tenjho Tenge. She is a member of the group named "F".

Character outline

Noriko Shindayū Inue is a woman with short black hair, despite her young appearance she is in fact centuries old. She has been kept alive and young by Sōhaku Kago, and she is one of his most loyal followers. Her appearance alters slightly later in the story as she is missing quite a few teeth, after she incites Mitsuomi's anger.

She is often entrusted with Sōhaku’s experiments and seems to have a very possessive love (or adoration) towards him. This leads her to be highly protective of him, and vengeful to anyone who harms him in even a minor fashion. She is a member of F, and the head advisor of the Akabane Clan.^[1]

She tends to be very demanding, and has an elitist attitude. She does and says whatever she pleases to just about anyone with the exception of Sohaku. She does this because she believes she is immune to repercussions due to her power, the Dragon's Roar. For example, she continuously refers Souichiro by his family's honorific name, Kengo; which irritates Souichiro to the point that he attempts to assault her.

Shindayū is a title given to Shinto priests, whether or not Shindayū is in fact her middle name or just used to designate her as a Shinto priestess is unclear.

Techniques & Abilities

Noriko using the Dragon's Roar

Dragon's Roar

Noriko's power is that of the Dragon's Roar (龍砲^?) ^[2], it uses her words to control others. Her ki is sent through the vibrations in the atmosphere, this allows her to make a link with another person's brain and grant her immediate control.^[2] Her power's weakness in that it can't control subconscious actions.

Origins of Her Power

Noriko's Dragon's Roar could be mistaken for a Red Feather Power, but it is actually a spirit jutsu. Since it is known to Madoka Mawari as "Kotodama", it indicates that others may have had the same abilities in the past.^[2] The power seems to be assisted (possibly even created) by a tattoo/design on Noriko's tongue.

Synopsis

Manga

Noriko was never animated as the anime didn't proceed that far, she appears solely in the manga. It is revealed that the Takayanagi Family has historically been supported by the 12 founding families. When Mitsuomi Takayanagi's takeover happened, Sohaku also had the other family heads exiled. A new alliance has formed, calling itself 'F', Noriko is a member of F despite not actually being a member of one of those families. Like the majority of F, Noriko holds allegiance to Sohaku as opposed to Mitsuomi.

Sohaku Arc

Noriko first appears after Sohaku had kidnapped Souichiro Nagi. After one of Souichiro's many attempts to escape, Noriko has a conversation with Sohaku. Sohaku asks her if he will be ready for the tournament and Noriko insists she will make it happen. ^[3] She appears to be given the job of finding people for Souichiro to steal the powers from, and forcing him to fight them. Usually referring to the people he is forced to fight as gamecocks or meat. Some notable "meat" she fed Souichiro includes Katsumi Kabuto and Shidzuru Kamura. As a result of these fights Souichiro learned to control his Demon Exorcist powers much more freely than before.

As Shidzuru is brought in to be fed to Souichiro, she attempts to assault Sohaku. She drops three guards, and goes to kick Sohaku in the face, but Noriko intervenes. Noriko takes control of Souichiro with her Dragon's Roar and forces him to punch Shidzuru, stealing her dragon in the process. As Shidzuru managed to barely touch Sohaku, Noriko forces her to ram her own knee into her face repeatedly as punishment.

She later meets with Mitsuomi in an attempt to have 24 people delivered at Sohaku's request^[1] so they could be forced to fight Souichiro (so he could steal their powers). Mitsuomi declines to provide them, he even says he won't provide currently unregistered students either.^[1] She compares Mitsuomi to the Emperor Kai of the Qin Dynasty in China; an emperor who lost all his power, and his life, as a result of his over-confidence. The implied threat irritates Mitsuomi, but Noriko continues to point out Mitsuomi's takeover of his family's estate was all thanks to Sohaku. ^[4] Noriko even takes it a step further as she pours her drink on his head, suggesting she will remove Mitsuomi from power and put his younger brother, Masataka Takayanagi, in his place.^[5] This greatly irritates Mitsuomi, who insists Masataka is not to be involved or touched, even saying he wished he made it the foremost condition in the deal with Sohaku.^[5] As Mitsuomi stands up and points out he knows Sohaku's intentions, his anger is clear; yet Noriko continues to press him under the belief she can control Mitsuomi with her Dragon's Roar preventing him from assaulting her. Unfortunately for Noriko, Mitsuomi has mastered the art of Mūkūken^[2], which uses repetition to take the brain and central nervous system out of the action of a punch; her power can't stop his punch as a result. The resulting punch severely damages Noriko's face, and knocks several teeth out. She then flees from Mitsuomi, controlling Madoka and forcing her to attack Mitsuomi as a distraction.

Afterward Mitsuomi allies with Maya Natsume and Madoka to rescue Souichiro and kill Sohaku. Sohaku is beheaded by Mitsuomi; after a while Souichiro is the only one still in the room. Noriko enters carrying Sohaku's severed head, holding Souichiro still with her Dragon's Roar. She pokes out Souichiro's right eye ^[6], and it is implied she inserts Sohaku's in its place.

Feudal Japan Arc

As Aya Natsume uses her Dragon's Eye to witness events in Feudal Japan with the assistance of the Reiki, Noriko once again makes an appearance. Two years after the siege of Osaka Castle and Sohaku's escape inside Senihime's dog, Noriko and Tetsuhito Kagiroi attack Tokuan Shōjō, Honda Sadonokami Masanobu, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Tetsuhito kills Tokugawa, and Noriko uses her powers to prevent Honda from moving and subsequently crushes his testicles for betraying Sohaku.^[7] She then pokes out Tokuan's right eye and inserts Sohaku's in its place.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; (Chapter 80, Page 5).
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "Tenjho Tenge" Manga;(Chapter 80, Page 17).
3. ^ "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; (Chapter 78, Page 5).
4. ^ "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; (Chapter 80, Page 7-9).
5. ^ ^{a b} "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; (Chapter 80, Page 10).
6. ^ "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 16 tankōbon (Chapter 96, Page 82-83).
7. ^ "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 16 tankōbon (Chapter 96, Page 77).