Psyren

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Psyren


caption = Volume 2 cover
ja_name = PSYREN－サイレン－
ja_name_trans = Sairen
genre = Action, SupernaturalInfobox animanga/Manga
title =
author = Toshiaki Iwashiro
publisher = flagicon|Japan Shueisha
demographic = Shōnen
magazine = flagicon|Japan Weekly Shōnen Jump
first = December 2007
last =
volumes = 3

nihongo|"Psyren"|PSYREN－サイレン－|Sairen is an ongoing supernatural manga series by Toshiaki Iwashiro. It has been serialized in Japan by Shueisha in the manga magazine "Weekly Shōnen Jump" since the 3 December 2007 issue, with serial chapters collected in three bound volumes as of October 2008. The series is about the adventures of a high school student, Ageha Yoshina, who learns to develop his psychic abilities after being transported to a world named Psyren.

Synopsis

One day while heading home, Ageha Yoshina finds a public pay phone ringing by itself. He picks it up, receiving no answer except a calling card with the word "Psyren" printed on it. After Sakurako Amamiya, a girl in Yoshina's class, disappears after mentioning "Psyren", Ageha uses the calling card in hopes of finding the whereabouts of his classmate, despite being warned not to get involved. After answering a long and detailed quiz on a payphone, he is asked if he wants to go to Psyren. Furiously pressing "no," he storms away. The next day, two men manage to find out about Ageha and his Psyren card. While being chased, he receives a call which gets louder and louder by the second. As he answers the phone, he is immediately drawn into the world of Psyren. A world which is inhabited by monsters called Tavoo. A world where players must fight to survive using the powers of PSI.

Characters

;nihongo|Ageha Yoshina|夜科 アゲハ|Yoshina Ageha:A high-schooler who offers to take care of anyone's problems for the price of 10,000 yen. He is transported to Psyren after he uses the calling card to find out more about the whereabouts of his classmate Sakurako Amamiya. Once in Psyren, Yoshina has to pair up with Amamiya and Hiryū Asaga to get back to Earth. After narrowly defeating the cyborg Alfred, Yoshina and the other survivors return to Earth. Ageha, along with Asaga, begin to train under Amamiya and Matsuri to master their abilities. Ageha's PSI power is fueled almost entirely by emotion, an unusual occurence. Initially Ageha's PSI power manifested as a massively destructive blast of pure psychic energy, which would leave him exhausted after only one shot. During his second trip to Psyren, Ageha's power began to manifest as a massive black sphere that nearly destroyed his mind and almost turned Yoshina to ash because of it. Matsuri later identified this power as "Melchsee's Door", an extremely rare ability that creates a highly concentrated ball of pure burst energy. It is an ability that responds to any PSI energy in the area and seeks out and completely eradicates any PSI or matter it touches. Later in he bows down to two of the Elmore Wood's child for them to teach him how to control his PSI. During his time at the estate, he learns from the kids two methods to control Melchsee's Door: 'Burst Stream' and 'Programming'. By Chapter 34 he seems to have at least mediocre control of Melchsee's Door. Now by Chapter 41, he seems to have evolved his Melchsee's Door into a more compact form. Ageha seems to have a crush on Sakurako Amamiya, as he gets furious and beats up Kabuto Kirisaki everytime he flirts with her.

;nihongo|Sakurako Amamiya|雨宮 桜子|Amamiya Sakurako:A girl in Yoshina's class who used to be bright and lively but was nicknamed "The Ice Princess" after she became cold and hard-hearted. Yoshina suspects that Psyren may be the cause for Amamiya's change. Once in Psyren, she comes down with a sickness that immobilizes her. This forces Yoshina and Asaga to take care of her. Amamiya seems to know more about Psyren then the other humans that are trapped there and this is due to her relationship with Matsuri. She seems specialize in weapons as she always takes one to Psyren when called. Her PSI abilities are excellent and well-spread over the three forms. Her Burst is over satisfactory; she is extremely proficient in Rise; her Trance is strong enough that it is able to create a scythe in her Mind Jack: Insanity Size. She also has some skill at creating illusions to deceive her opponents. Amamiya might have a crush on Ageha, which developed upon the first return to Psyren. She enjoys Matsuri's music and opens her eyes wide when she's angry. Her relationship with her parents is non existent.

;nihongo|Hiryū Asaga|朝河 飛龍|Asaga Hiryū:"Dragon" Asaga is a tough guy who says that he came to Psyren in search of a friend. He agrees to help out Amamiya for Yoshina. After their safe return to earth, he comforts Yoshina about Amamiya being taken by an unknown friend and reveals himself to be Asaga Hiryū, Ageha's former classmate from elementary school who used to be a crybaby (who Ageha used to pick on; humorously, Asaga got his revenge by remarking how short Ageha was compared to him). He displays more proficiency with PSI than Ageha, learning to use his abilities and controlling it faster, though that may be because Ageha's Melchsee's Door is a more advanced technique. Asaga's PSI ability resembles the tail of a Dragon in its Burst state fitting his nickname. Recently he has advanced his PSI ability as he is now able to create the wings of a Dragon that can whip up huge gales.

;nihongo|Oboro Mochizuki|望月 朧|Mochizuki Oboro:An idol in the present, Oboro received a call card and tried to tell the nation about it on a local talk show but was silenced by Nemesis Q and almost killed. He was summoned to Psyren during the second mission. There, he decides to make a break for the exit despite the fact the route through the Danger Zone. A large number of new drifters (in fact, all of them except Kabuto) followed him only to be attacked by a giant worm. Ageha saved him from the worm; Oboro's first encounter with PSI. He was infected with the Psyren diesease soon after, comically hugging Ageha when he came to help. Once he recovered, he came up with the plan for the group to steal Tatsuo's mask to repel the worm Tavoo, but was left behind to watch the sick Kabuto. Intending to join the action regardless, he followed after, though he arrived after the battle with Tatsuo was over. He heals Ageha and Asaga with his newfound ability, Cure. After returning to the present, he joins Matsuri's training session, completing it without problem. He is currently with the group in Psyren. :Oboro is ambitious, and his ability has been commented about by various characters, as well as proven by the speed he learns PSI compared to Ageha and Asaga. He often switches between acting like an adult and acting like a child, whining when he doesn't get his way. His PSI is "Cure", which allows him to share "rise" ability with who he's healing by using a form of "burst". He is currently the fastest when using rise.

;nihongo|Kabuto Kirisaki|霧崎 カブト|Kirisaki Kabuto:A local playboy who seems to spend his time hitting on attractive women. Once, when he was caught, he fell to his knees and beged for mercy, giving various excuses for his actions such as 'never feeling loved before' and that he lost both his parents (although this seems true) before recalling his words as a joke and escaping again. Kabuto has a good sense of vision as he is able to see his uncle's cabin, in the mountains, all the way from the top of a roof in the city. Kabuto goes to Psyren to try to make his fortune and of the new arrivals during the group's second tip to Psyren, he was the only one who listened to Amamiya's instructions, though that is probably due to his affections for her.:It has recently been speculated, by Dholaki, that Kabuto holds the power of precognition. He was able to pre-empt an attack from Dholaki, and adjusted his position to avoid it. This is proven during the story when Kabuto states he can see the "threat of death". Dholaki calls this PSI ability "Menace", and it can only be achieved by those with exceedingly strong Trance, and strong sense, which is a type of Rise. Unfortunately, because Kabuto neglected his rise training, he is unable to physically keep up with his visions well.

;nihongo|Matsuri Yagumo|八雲 祭|Yagumo Matsuri:A famous concert pianist and veteran Psyren drifter, she was the one who taught Amamiya all about Psyren. Because her card's value is already at zero, she cannot help the main characters and instead acts in a mentor role. She is a talented pianist, though she drinks a lot and drives a motorcycle. When Ageha and Asaga first met her, she was drunk and responding to a call for assistance from Amamiya. She reacts playfully in regards to her friend Ian's crush on her.

;nihongo|Tatsuo Mana|真名 辰夫|Mana Tatsuo:A friend of Asaga's who was always sickly with a hereditary disease, as he stayed sick he grew angry with the outside world, he went to Psyren and offered Asaga a card but he refused. In Psyren, a figure wearing a mask appears, holding a rifle that uses his PSI energy. He strongly resembles Tatsuo and after killing all but the five survivors, takes his aim at them and destroys part of the building. Amamiya says he's a Burst User and he also uses Rise to fight her physically. After using Trance, Amamiya realizes that Tatsuo was transformed into a Tavoo by having an orb implanted into him. Tatsuo regains his mind after being hit by Ageha's, however his core remains because it is integrated to his body. Because he does not have his card stays, revealing that he will die when his core runs out of energy, but will look for a way around this. He describes his time as a Tavoo as being trapped in someone else's body, and regrets all the killing he did.

;nihongo|Elmore Tenjuin|天樹院エルモア|Tenjuin Erumoa:An old woman, clairvoyant Psychicer in current Japan who is trying to unlock the secrets of Psyren and save Japan from its intended future. She is offering 500 million yen to whoever can figure out Psyren. With her ability to see into the future, she has seen what Japan will eventually become. Her husband Koper was a Psyren drifter who could read minds. Together, the two of them became wealthy and famous for their fortune-telling ability. After retiring, the couple began taking in gifted orphan children and helping them train their PSI abilities. One year ago, however, Koper turned into ash right before Elmore's eyes when he was about to tell her something (seemingly he was going to reveal secrets to her about Psyren). Before he died, Elmore was able to see into Koper's mind and saw Psyren's calling card, Nemesis Q, and the horrible state Japan would be in. Her husband dead, Tenjuin Elmore is still PSI-training orphans in her home, known as Elmore Wood. These talented children include Frederica (who uses Pyrokinesis), Marie (who uses Telekinesis), Shao, Kyle (who uses Rise-orientated abiltiies), and Van (who uses Healing abilities).

;nihongo|Ian|イアン|Ian:A superior cure user and old friend of Matsuri with a rather unfriendly personality. He doesn't want others to know about his power because he wants to live his life in peace. Ian has proposed to Matsuri 12 times and shot down every time, but apparently has not given up. He is a born PSI user and thus cannot be told anything related to Psyren, but is willing to wait until Matsuri can tell him, and promised not stick his nose in it. He dislikes Amamiya claiming that, since she showed up, Matsuri doesn't have any time for him.

;nihongo|Kagetora Hyōdō|雹堂 影虎|Kagetora Hyōdō:Another old friend of Matsuri who is an expert user of Rise-type PSI, claiming to be the best Rise user in all of eastern Japan. Kagetora says that he is always available to die or kill for Matsuri ever since she saved him from a near-deadly hit and run accident with an elderly woman on her way home from the store. (In actuality it was a gunshot wound from a gang fight.) He has proposed to Matsuri 22 times and was turned down every time. His physical appearance is that of a typical gangster with sunglasses, slicked-back hair, and a print button-down shirt. His favorite food is Mont Blanc cake, he loves cats, and he would never harm a woman or child. Kagetora is a Psychicer and does not know any of the details of Psyren. However, he comes to help Matsuri train the new Psyren Drifters in Rise techniques.

;nihongo|Fubuki Yoshina|夜科 フブキ|Yoshina Fubuki:The older sister and guardian of Ageha Yoshina age 24. She always gives long lectures but prefers to hit him for the little things like being late and goes as far as tying him up from the ceiling repeatedly. She has a crush on the idol Oboro Mochizuki, who ironically acts a lot like Ageha.

;nihongo|Alfred|アルフレッド|Arufureddo:A cyborg who lives in Psyren, he attacks the group and nearly wipes them all out after pursuing them to the escape point. He has stitches around his limbs, a single glowing eye in his helmet and monstrous strength. His name is written on the plate attached near the base of his neck. He also repeats the phrases 'Agro' and 'Abraham' whether these two phrases mean anything isn't clear. His weapon of choice appears to be a small cross-bow. He was killed by Ageha in his first round of Psyren.

;nihongo|Nemesis Q|ネメシスQ|Nemeshisu Q:The mysterious and supposed leader of Psyren. He has appeared a few times so far, two times watching Ageha before sending him to Psyren, once for Asaga, once for Oboro, and recently behind Matsuri, although why behind her is unknown, as her card value is already at 0. He personally attacks any drifters who try to reveal info on Psyren to non-drifters.

;nihongo|Dholaki|ドルキ|Doruki:The implied leader of a group in Psyren, called The Wise. He is a man with long silver hair and a long coat with a large collar. His eyes are masked with a bird-like visor similar to that of Nemesis Q. He resides in the Psyren Tower and is said to have control over the Tavoo. He is seen in Tatsuo's flashback as the man who oversaw the implanting of the orb in Tatsuo's chest. Matsuri briefly met him in the tower during her time in Psyren and was attacked before narrowly escaping. During Ageha's third trip to Psyren, one of the Tavoo pick up Amamiya's telepathy transmission to Tatsuo and Kabuto. Dholaki is alerted to the drifters' presence and offers to take care of them on his own. A video shot by Kabuto's uncle shows the children of Elmore Wood saving a crowd from Dholkai and two other unidentified W.I.S.E members in the years leading up to Psyren. All the children were defeated easily by the use of a mysterious Psych that takes the form of a leafless tree that speared them. The possibility that Dholkai received his power from the meteor is high.Fact|date=September 2008

Terminology

Tavoo:A type of creature that can be found in Psyren. They generally resemble a large insect, or a human being. They can be recognized by the light-emitting sphere somewhere on their body, the stitch marks on various places (most visible on the limbs), the human-like arms and hands and their large power. They appear to be permanently hostile, attacking anything but their own kind on sight. In chapter 10, Matsuri suggests that they are somehow related to the state of Japan in the future. Despite their strength, they are easy to defeat by destroying the light-emitting sphere. Doing so will cause them to die within a minute. They first appeared in chapter 2, the first humanoid Tavoo, Alfred, appeared in chapter 3.

PSI:PSI is the ability to manipulate the surroundings using the power of the mind. As Matsuri explains in chapter 11, it works by using the brain's full capacity instead if only a part of it. Since this can cause serious damage, comparable with overheating, humanity evolved a blocker in order to limit the brain's maximum used capacity. Due to something in the air of Psyren, this blocker will be destroyed after the first visit to Psyren, which is accompanied by a continuous nosebleed and a high fever, both of which are gone after a night's sleep. PSI itself is divided into three forms: burst, trance and rise. Burst is used to manipulate the environment (such as telekinesis and pyrokinesis), trance is used to manipulate other people (such as telepathy and illusions) and rise is used to manipulate the user himself (such as increased reflexes and natural healing).There are also two other PSI powers mentioned thus far in the manga. Cure, a form of Burst and Rise together, and Visions, a form of Rise and Trance. It is mentioned that combining emotion with PSI can produce devastating powers and shouldn't be done, such as in Ageha's Melchsee's Door or Frederica's Pyrokinesis.

Psyren:Essentially, Psyren is Japan, but in the year 2018, as said by Dholaki in chapter 37. Appearently a massive event took place, turning everything into a wasteland without any life other than the Tavoo. Even though most of Japan appears to be completely leveled, there are some buildings left with pay phones which Nemesis Q uses as starting points and exits for the drifters. When the group finds a collection of newspapers,there are none after 2010, as well as several references in a diary they found as well about a group named "wise". A DVD and what could be the last working television set in the area reveal that "wise" is directly responsible for Psyren.

WISE:"wise" is a cult/organization who is the direct cause of Psyren. The members of this group, although only 2 have been shown clearly, all wear long robes and face-concealing masks. Also they are extremely powerful Psychicers, as hinted in a few pieces of newspapers found in Psyren. They believe they were given their power by god and that they were meant to "reset" the world as we know it. In chapter 35 they are first named, and the first member to make an actual appearance in the series (not including the dvd record) appeared in the end of chapter 36, and called himself Dholaki.

Psychicer:A Psychicer is anyone with PSI powers. There are those naturally born with psychicer powers however those who make it back alive from psyren are able to awaken their PSI powers due to the environment in Psyren.

Drifter:Psyren Drifter, shortened as drifter is a person who has made it back from psyren and are still playing the "game". Once the psyren card the drifter owns drops to 0 they are no longer drifters.

Manga

"Psyren" is written and illustrated by Toshiaki Iwashiro. The series is published in Japan by Shueisha, and has been serialized in the shōnen (aimed at teenage boys) manga magazine "Weekly Shōnen Jump" since the 3 December 2007 issue. Publication is ongoing, with serial chapters collected in three tankōbon volumes as of October 2008.cite web | url=http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/zen_list.cgi?siries_isbn=X78-4-08-874532-9&siries_kanren_isbn=&mode=2 | title=PSYREN－サイレン－／第1巻～第3巻｜岩代　俊明｜ジャンプコミックス｜BOOKNAVI｜集英社 | publisher=Shueisha | language=Japanese | accessdate=2008-10-05]

References

External links

* [http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/zen_list.cgi?siries_isbn=X78-4-08-874532-9&siries_kanren_isbn=&mode=2 Official listing at Sueisha] ja icon