Abe no Yasuaki

Abe no Yasuaki (安倍泰明) is one of the main characters from Koei and Ruby Party's popular neoromance game Harukanaru Toki no Naka De which was serialised into a manga and subsequently an anime series. "This page discusses the anime/manga rendition of Yasuaki's character and should not be confused with the gameplay incarnation."

Also known as: nihongo|Chi no Genbu|地の玄武. (Genbu of Earth)

Basic information

Yasuaki is the protegee of the legendary Onmyouji Abe no Seimei, and a powerful onmyouji in his own right, well known across Kyou for his ability in exorcising demons. Yasuaki's first encounter with Akane comes fairly early on (Ep 3 of the anime, and early in the manga), when he encounters her "dream-walking" during one of Akuram's spells and rescues her from a female Onryou who is lurking nearby. When Akane shows sympathy for the Onryou's spirit, however, Yasuaki tells her he "doesn't understand" - and sends her back to where she came from.

In the English translation, Yasuaki has been referred to as a 'sorcerer', although this is a poor translation as there are significant differences between the Onmyoudou that Yasuaki practices and classical sorcery.

Yasuaki holds the position of "Chi no Genbu" in the Hachiyou line-up.

Background and Personality

Unlike his fellow Hachiyou, Yasuaki was not "born" a human, but created through Abe no Seimei's magical skill, and crafted into his current form through that same ability (in the manga he even talks about Seimei using a Tengu's power to help form him, although this is not explained in the anime [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga Volume 13] ). For this reason, despite having the physical appearance of a twenty one year old adult male, Yasuaki has only actually been alive for two years. This in many ways explains his emotional simplicity and naivety, since he has not yet learnt many of the things his companions have grown up absorbing.

For the most part, Yasuaki is a composed, detached individual that operates largely on logic and is sometimes perceived as cold or strange. When it appears that Eisen will die if he exorcises the eight-stringed Kin, Yasuaki states the fact bluntly and without any concern because he sees it simply in black and white - to save the Miko, a Hachiyou must be prepared to do his duty. As he puts it - "If there is no Miko, there is no point in the Hachiyou." [Hachiyou Shou Episode 9-10]

When Yasuaki was "born", Seimei told him he had been born to find someone important to him, and that he lacked something as a person - a heart - which could not be crafted. For this reason, Yasuaki has accepted his master's words as meaning he's not a "real person", and therefore does not count in the same way as his Hachiyou companions. He believes he is the Miko's "tool" - in the manga, he is worried that he is "broken" because he can no longer read Akane's heart (although Akane explains to him that that just makes him like every other person, and that he's not broken at all) [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga Volume 13] .

In the anime he tells her that "a tool that no longer works has no option but to be destroyed" [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Hachiyou Shou Episode 23] after Shirin tells him that he will never be able to find the Northern Seal. In the anime, his ignorance of human feelings make him tell Ran the memories that to that point had been concealed from her, driving her back to the Oni clan and causing a lot of trouble for the Hachiyou. In the manga, it is when he releases Kotengu's seal and sends him into battle against Ikutidaru, only to have the creature apparently slain at the demon's hands.

Even though he believes he has no heart, however, Yasuaki proves he has one fairly early on, when, instinctively, he casts a spell on a dead branch to make it flower in an attempt to cheer a crying Akane up [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Hachiyou Shou Episode 3] . Although he doesn't understand her feelings or his own, this is the moment when he receives his dragon's jewel, and probably the moment when his human emotions first stir inside of him.

Yasuaki: Character Quirks

Yasuaki has many odd habits during the anime and the manga - including talking to trees [Hachiyou Shou Episode 19] , possessing small animals to convey messages [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De OVA:Aijisai Yumegatari, Hachiyou Shou anime] and even [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De OVA: Omoi no Chozai "Chi"] casting spell dolls to help him do the cleaning. Although undoubtedly the most powerful of the Hachiyou at the start, he is also probably the most vulnerable on account of his background and his origins.

Yasuaki's developmental stages and childlike naivety are more clearly outlined in the manga, also - at one point, he asks why people tell lies, but later winds up lying to Akane himself to protect her from the grief of Kotengu's apparent passing away. This act tortures him for some time afterwards and he withdraws from Akane's company completely, convinced she must be angry with him for telling her a lie. [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga Vols 10-13]

Yasuaki's most commonly said phrase in the manga and the anime is nihongo|問題ない|mondai nai (no problem), a catchphrase which was even picked up on and exploited in one of the live Haruka Matsuri festas [Neoromance Live: Haruka Matsuri 2005 (Koei)] . He also often says nihongo|分からない|wakaranai (I don't understand) - usually when relating to some human nuance that he hasn't managed to grasp yet.

The language he uses is somewhat disassociative - he calls Akane "Miko" (Priestess), although unlike some of his fellow Hachiyou this does not seem to be out of any formality, since he does not use other formal speak and he often refers to Akane with the more familiar pronoun "omae" (you). He never calls Akane by her real name, even when he is confessing his secrets to her. He also does not bother with honorifics - even referring to the Emperor's brother Eisen simply by his given name.

Relationships with People

In one episode of the anime, Akane is afraid she has hurt Yasuaki's feelings by criticising his mode of attack against an Onryou. Yasuaki dismisses her concern, telling her quite matter of factly that his feelings "don't exist", so it's not a problem.

By the end of the anime and the later manga volumes, however, Yasuaki's emotional state has developed to the point where he registers pain in his chest when he feels he has upset Akane, or is not able to be useful to her. However, he still needs Akane to explain to him what those sensations mean. Consequently, despite his tremendous spiritual skill, he is still very ignorant of human behaviour and this can occasionally lead him to do strange things (for example, carrying Akane on his back through the forest even though she wants him to let her down). Equally, he seems unconcerned by other people's displeasure. At one point in the anime he compares the fact Seimei's other disciples dislike him with another situation that he perceives as similar, yet he shows no outward signs that their dislike hurts him - it is simply stated in matter of fact, neutral tones. Akane is, therefore, the only one who is really capable of bringing out Yasuaki's human side.

Although in the anime Yasuaki confesses his secret to Akane and even sheds tears when she acknowledges him as himself and not just her tool, the manga goes into far more detail about Yasuaki's emotional understanding and development. Akane often compares him in her mind to a small child in his understanding of human interaction, and this analogy is a fairly good one, since his affection towards Akane is generally more a child looking for parental support than it is in any way romantic. Akane is the only one other than Seimei that is aware of Yasuaki's secret.

In typical Yasuaki style, he confesses that he likes her in blunt, direct terms, in front of all of the other Hachiyou when they are about to conduct an important ceremony...and seems quite oblivious to the reactions of the others or Akane's own startled discomfort at his sudden declaration. [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga vol 13]

The contrast between Yasuaki and his Genbu comrade Eisen is quite wide-ranging, yet in their own ways, both are as insecure as one another. Eisen is somewhat afraid of Yasuaki to begin with, and Yasuaki has no real emotional opinion of Eisen, either. In the anime, a bond is forged between them after Yasuaki discovers his sense of self and they manage to locate the Genbu seal [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Hachiyou Shou Episode 23] . Before this, although Yasuaki comes to Eisen's defence a few times, it is not clear whether he considers his actions anything more than his duty as a Hachiyou. His ability to detach himself emotionally in situations where Eisen's gentler, more sensitive nature is a disadvantage allows them to operate successfully as the "spiritual" element of Akane's Hachiyou, even despite their occasional communication blips. A good example of this is when Yasuaki twice interferes in conversations between Eisen and the pushy Minister of the Right who is looking for information on Akane. Though Eisen is careful and tactful and doesn't want to offend the minister, Yasuaki is deliberately blunt and even brandishes an onmyouji's seal behind Eisen's back to tell the minister he should 'back off'. [Hachiyou Shou Episode 19]

In the manga, though Yasuaki's magic helps guide people to rescue Eisen from Ikutidaru in the mountain forest, there is no exact scene where Eisen and Yasuaki bond in the same way. Their working relationship continues instead to be the mix of chalk and cheese that their diverse personalities represent. [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga Volume 10]

Although Yasuaki is respected by all of the other Hachiyou for the most part, it's probably true to say that he does not establish any close bonds of friendship with any of them. However, this is not due to any coldness on their part, but simply another manifestation of his limited emotional understanding. His relationship with Tenma is somewhat put under pressure in the anime over the situation with Ran and her missing memories (this does not occur in the manga, where Ran is never missing any memories of her time with the Oni clan). Yasuaki does not understand why Tenma is concealing Ran's actions from her, and even asks him outright why he is lying. Even when Tenma explains that he doesn't want to worry his sister, Yasuaki is unable to comprehend his reasons. [Hachiyou Shou Episode 19] However, when Yasuaki does tell Ran the truth, he goes to Tenma afterwards to ask if he did the wrong thing - seemingly still trying to figure out in his mind why telling the truth might not always be the most tactful path. Tenma doesn't really understand how Yasuaki works - actually asking him once whether he has any feelings, to which Yasuaki flatly replies "No." [Hachiyou Shou Episode 23]

Yasuaki's bond with his master Seimei is somewhat obtuse. Seimei is his creator and he became an Onmyouji because Seimei was one and he had no independent ideas on how his life should pan out other than to follow Seimei's instruction. Although he still lives at Seimei's residence, he often goes wandering and Seimei does not ever seem troubled by his occasionally lengthy absences. Whether Seimei sees him as a person or a creation is unclear. Yasuaki always refers to him as "Master" and never by his name or with any more familial term, suggesting the relationship between them is more of mentor and student than it is based in any kind of affection.

Other Information

":The closing theme to Episode 23 of the anime is Yasuaki's image song "Kageri no Fuuin", sung by his Seiyuu Ishida Akira."

References

External links

* [http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/neoromance/ Neoromance official site]
* [http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/haruka/ TV Tokyo website]
* [http://haruka8tv.gamecity.ne.jp/ Haruhachi Koei official fansite]
*ann anime|id=4484|title=Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Hachiyō Shō