Moka Akashiya

Moka Akashiya
Rosario + Vampire character
Moka Akashiya, from the anime and manga series, Rosario + Vampire.
First appearance	Manga Chapter #1 Anime Episode #1
Created by	Akihisa Ikeda
Voiced by	Japanese Nana Mizuki English Alexis Tipton (Outer)[1] Colleen Clinkenbeard (Inner)
Profile
Age	15–16 (Season I) 17 (Season II)
Species	Vampire (Shinso)
Notable relatives	Issa Shuzen (Father) Akasha Bloodriver (Mother) Gyokuro Shuzen (Stepmother) Kokoa Shuzen (Younger Half-sister) Kalua Shuzen (Older Half-sister) Akua Shuzen (Stepsister)

Moka Akashiya (赤夜 萌香, Akashiya Moka^?)^{[Note 1]} is a fictional character from the Japanese anime and manga series, Rosario + Vampire. The female protagonist, she is a sweet and kind-hearted vampire and the first to befriend Tsukune Aono, the human male protagonist, and despite the danger it entails for him, he remains on campus, with one of his motivations for staying with Moka. In the Japanese version of the anime, her voice actress is Nana Mizuki, who is also responsible for performing the theme songs for both anime seasons. In the English version, Outer Moka is voiced by Alexis Tipton,^[1] while Inner Moka is voiced by Colleen Clinkenbeard.

Background and Personality

Outer Moka

Cheerful and positive, "Outer" (表, Omote^?) Moka's natural good looks get the attention of all the males in Yokai Academy (as well as problems with a few of the females including Kurumu, as seen in chapter 2). Though good natured, she possesses a bit of naivety that draws her into problematic situations. While initially distrustful of humans, having spent almost her entire life in the human world until middle school where she was being made fun of by her fellow students,^[2] she eventually grows to care for the only human on campus, Tsukune Aono. Her bond with him grows stronger over time, to the point where he begins allowing her to ingest his blood without protest, just so she remains healthy. When it appears in the story Tsukune will be expelled, Moka states she rather drop out and go with him because she cannot bear the thought of them being separated.^[3] She is also good friends with Kurumu, who considers herself and Moka "best friends" despite their rivalry for Tsukune's affection.

In Rosario + Vampire: Season II with the introduction of Moka's half-sister, Kokoa Shuzen, prior to the "Inner Moka" being sealed, the two developed a brief rivalry. Kokoa became distressed when she was sealed, and spent the next years chasing her sister in order to fight and talk to her inner self. While Inner Moka loves Kokoa as a sibling, she finds her younger sister "too clingy", and Outer Moka dislikes Kokoa's penchant for attacking her constantly in order to force out her other personality.

Oddly, Outer Moka's appearance is exactly like that of her mother's, Akasha Bloodriver. Later in the manga's second serialization, it is shown that the reason for this is that Outer Moka is a fake personality that her rosario created by Akasha, and the purpose of Outer Moka is to protect the seal and body of Inner Moka while Inner Moka is asleep.^[4] However, even though they share the same body and mind with one another, both Mokas are considered to be "real personalities."

Inner Moka

Inner Moka, Moka's true vampiric form

When the rosario around her neck is removed (only Tsukune can remove the rosario safely, but Moka is also able, albeit with potentially fatal side-effects), the seal that keeps her true nature is released, transforming Moka into a "super-vampire". Aside from the physical changes to her body (silver hair, red eyes with slit pupils, slightly larger hips, and a slight increase in her breast size), her inner vampiric personality also emerges. Cold and reserved, "Inner Moka" (裏萌香, Ura-Moka^?) is deeply aristocratic and arrogant, looking down upon all manner of yōkai—a completely different entity from "Outer Moka". She even goes as far as to specifically remind Tsukune to "be kind to the other Moka", but in the manga, Moka's inner personality is shown to have a more feminine side when she spent a day with Tsukune, similar to the outer half.^[5] She also possesses knowledge of the other types of monsters that attend Yokai Academy. Her quote at the end of a fight is "Know your place" (身の程を知れ, Minohodo o shire^?), a quote that her mother used as well. In contrast to Outer Moka's appearance bearing a striking resemblance to her mother, Inner Moka's appearance closely resembles that of her father, Issa Shuzen (in the anime adaptation).

While slightly amused at Tsukune's attempts to assist her, despite him being a human, Inner Moka claims her personal interest in protecting him is due to his human blood, the primary source of nourishment for her body, but also to keep Outer Moka happy.^[6] Over the course of the series, Inner Moka begins to take far more activity in keeping him safe, even if actions result in personal injury, and goes as far as to defend Tsukune from being marked as "too weak". Later on during her fight with Kusabi Mido of the Anti-Schoolers, she goes so far as to tell Tsukune that the reason she pushed him away and attempted to get him to return to the human world is because she didn't want him to die.^[7]

At the beginning of the series, she refused to even be around Tsukune, but as the series progresses, she shows an interest in Tsukune by letting him hold her hand in the manga, although this was done so he could sense the other girls planning their attacks as Inner Moka told him it was okay if he wanted to hold her hand.^[5] This is shown more in the anime when Inner Moka becomes permanent after her rosario was used to hold the barrier, and tries to act the same as Outer Moka, though ironically this only makes Tsukune nervous.^[8] Recently, Inner Moka has been shown to blush heavily when it was jokingly suggested by Kurumu that she had been about to say "I'm the only one who can be Tsukune's wife", and beats her (and everyone else) up as a result.^[9] Inner Moka has horrible cooking skills compared to Outer Moka, mainly due to the fact that Inner Moka is usually sealed up all the time, so she hasn't had the opportunity and the experience to learn how to cook properly.^[10] At the end of chapter 26 of the second serialization, the seal was broken sufficient enough that Inner Moka has taken over the body and Outer Moka was forced into being the Inner personality, however the two can still converse via the rosario almost normally with each other.^[10] However, it was repaired by Tohofuhai by the end of chapter 38 prior to Moka's captivity by Akua as an emegency measure.^[11] Recently in the manga, it is shown that Inner Moka has developed some feelings for Tsukune, though she is in complete denial over them.

In truth, Inner Moka is the real Moka. As a newborn, she was injected with blood from her mother Akasha in order to save her life, but by inheriting her blood, she also carries the "Shinso Blood", the source of a vampire's powers (which cannot be passed through heredity). When Akasha was attacked and seemingly killed by her stepsister Akua, it also awakened her Shinso Blood, which also inadvertently awakened the Vampire Lord Alucard as their blood was synchronized with him to seal it. To prevent her daughter from being killed by Alucard and to seal him once more, she uses a rosary seal and created a fake personality, Outer Moka (who is based on Akasha in appearance), to seal away Moka's Shinso Blood by putting her to sleep, and can only be awakened when her seal is removed by a person who truly cares about her.^[4]

Powers and abilities

In her super-vampire state, Moka possess superhuman strength, speed, incredibly agile reflexes and regenerative properties. Classified as an S-Class yōkai, she is one of the strongest monsters at Yokai Academy, alongside a vampire's unique ability to convert their demonic aura into raw strength (no other creature is capable of this).^[12] Inner Moka's fighting style is mainly kick-based, her most common move being a high leg kick to the opponent. Her sister Kokoa states that among the four siblings, Moka is in a league of her own, possessing an already formidable power that still has not reached its full potential.^{[volume & issue needed]} However, if she remains unsealed for extended periods of time, she gets weaker as she loses her will to fight the more times she is unsealed.^[13] Even in her sealed state, Moka has access to her tremendous vampiric strength (seen when she blindly shoves people away), though she prefers to be more laid back and rarely uses all her strength. While the "Inner Moka" is sealed, she can communicate with Moka via the rosario, imparting both knowledge and warnings, though she cannot communicate with the others.^[14]

Because she is a vampire, Moka needs blood to function daily. As a result, she will usually attempt to take a bite on Tsukune's neck (while saying the onomatopeia for "Chomp! Slurrrp..." (かぷっちゅ..., Kapucchu...^?)), and only him, as she claims his blood is the sweetest.^[15] However, her fondness for it has escalated into a physical need. If she goes too long without it, Moka's strength sharply declines and suffers fainting spells.^[16] Regardless, she can still ingest other food and drinks, with tomato juice being the alternative to blood.

Like most vampires in traditional folklore, Moka has a weakness for silver, crosses, and sunlight to a small extent (which is why she always wears long-sleeved clothes to protect herself^[17]), but her greatest vulnerability, or any vampire in general, is water. Due to its purifying properties, it has an adverse effect, rendering her immobile and removing energy from her body in a painful fashion.^[18] However, it is interesting to note herbal water does not carry this effect (seen when she makes breakfast for Tsukune).^[19] In her sealed state, Moka is held back from utilizing the full extent of her abilities.

One unique ability Moka can utilize is physically injecting her blood into another person through her fangs. Not only will the host regenerate any wound on their body, but may temporarily transform into a vampire physically as strong as a super-vampire. The downside to this is diminished strength, upon successful transfer into the host's body, as Moka needs to recuperate the lack of blood circulation in her system.^[20] However, this ability is extremely dangerous: constant injections will slowly damage the host's body and perhaps kill the host.^[21] Even if the host does live through a blood transfer, there is a rare instance he or she may transform into a ghoul, a mindless variant of a vampire with an uncontrollable desire to kill and a craving for blood and battle, such as the case with Tsukune.^[22]

Moka's Rosario

Moka's rosario was the only thing that her mother left behind after she disappeared. It was originally believed that Moka's rosario sealed her true vampiric powers. However, when Moka and her friends went to Hong Kong to see Tohofuhai, the Second Dark Lord, about fixing the rosario, Tohofuhai discovered that the rosario does not actually seal Moka's powers. Much to his surprise, it seals away Moka's memories. The whole point of sealing Inner Moka is to seal away her Shinso Blood, which is linked to Alucard's powers, and can only be removed by a person who truly cares for her, in other words, Tsukune.^[4] In the anime adaptation, Moka manages to bypass her rosario seal after Ruby mortally wounds Tsukune during the Witch's Knoll arc, the emotional trauma causing her Inner personality to emerge without having Tsukune remove the seal.^[23] Also, if willed on by Moka, it can hold back the awakening of Alucard.

Notes

1. ^ Moka's name is a pun on the word "mocha", as well as reflecting her split personalities, as mocha is a combination of coffee (representing Inner Moka) and cocoa (representing Outer Moka). Moka's family name (Akashiya) may be an anagram for Ayakashi, which is a Japanese term synonymous with yōkai (meaning demon, spirit, or monster). Her family name is also perhaps a pun referring to Akasha, the Vampire Queen in Anne Rice's novel series The Vampire Chronicles, as well as being the namesake of her mother.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Cast Announcements from Anime USA". Funimation Entertainment. November 12, 2010. http://blog.funimation.com/2010/11/cast-announcements-from-anime-usa/. Retrieved November 13, 2010. 
2. ^ Rosario + Vampire manga; Volume 1, Chapter 1, page 35
3. ^ Rosario + Vampire manga; Volume 7, Chapter 28, page 168
4. ^ ^{a b c} Rosario + Vampire: Season II; Volume 8, Chapter 34
5. ^ ^{a b} Rosario + Vampire: Season II; Volume 4, Chapter 16
6. ^ Rosario + Vampire manga; Volume 1, Chapter 1, page 56
7. ^ Rosario + Vampire manga; Volume 6, Chapter 22, page 85
8. ^ Rosario + Vampire Capu2; Episode 12: "Holy Seal and a Vampire"
9. ^ Rosario + Vampire: Season II; Volume 6, Chapter 23
10. ^ ^{a b} Rosario + Vampire: Season II; Volume 6, Chapter 26
11. ^ Rosario + Vampire: Season II; Volume 9, Chapter 38
12. ^ Rosario + Vampire manga; Volume 5, Chapter 17, page 19
13. ^ Rosario + Vampire: Season II; Volume 7, Chapter 27
14. ^ Rosario + Vampire manga; Volume 1, Chapter 2, page 82
15. ^ Rosario + Vampire manga; Volume 1, Chapter 1, page 27
16. ^ Rosario + Vampire manga; Volume 7, Chapter 27
17. ^ Rosario + Vampire manga; Volume 4 omake: "Dragging Moka"
18. ^ Rosario + Vampire manga; Volume 1, Chapter 3, page 124
19. ^ Rosario + Vampire manga; Volume 3, Chapter 11, page 96
20. ^ Rosario + Vampire manga; Volume 3, Chapter 10, page 79
21. ^ Rosario + Vampire manga; Volume 6, Chapter 22, page 54
22. ^ Rosario + Vampire manga; Volume 6, Chapter 23
23. ^ Rosario + Vampire anime; Episode 10: "Sunflowers and a Vampire"