Nagareyama Shimon

Shimon Nagareyama nihongo|流山詩紋|Nagareyama Shimon 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 Shimon's character and should not be confused with the gameplay incarnation."

Also known as: nihongo|Chi no Suzaku|地の朱雀. (Suzaku of Earth)

Basic information

:Shimon is one of Akane's friends from her world, although he is a year younger than she is and still in his final year of middle school. Shimon was accidentally drawn into the well while trying to protect his friend from Akuram's summoning. Consequently, Shimon is the first Hachiyou to receive a Dragon's jewel, because he is the first one to protect her in Kyou.

:Shimon's position in the Hachiyou is Chi no Suzaku. His power is related to the Earth, although he only uses it properly for the first time to defeat Sefuru [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga Volume 8] , and does not generally look to involve himself in conflict. In the anime, Shimon's position is revealed by Fuji-hime right away [Hachiyou Shou Episode 2] , however it is not until the later stages of the manga that it is discovered he is the "Chi" to Inori's "Ten." [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga Volume 11]

Personality

:Shimon is a good-natured boy who dislikes conflict and wants to see the best in the people around him. He is not particularly strong physically, and this, coupled with his unusual blond hair and blue eyes have often made him the subject of teasing and bullying among his classmates at school. It was through one of these incidents that he first met Akane and Tenma, when they tried to stick up for him.

:Shimon is both intelligent and gentle, his main interest (and hope for the future) is to become involved somehow in culinary work - wanting to be properly trained in this regard. [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga Volume 6] He also has a habit of worrying about other people rather a lot - particularly Akane, but also Tenma and the others around him. He is slow to take a grudge and because he lacks somewhat in self-confidence, often considers his weakness to be to blame for incidents which may have no relation to him whatsoever. He is quick to forgive - particularly in the case of Inori, whose behaviour to him to begin with is more than a little unpleasant. [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga Volume 8]

:Shimon's use of language is generally fairly polite, if not formal. Although Tenma and Akane are both older than him, he only refers to Tenma as "senpai", instead calling Akane "Akane-chan". He calls Inori "Inori-kun", even when they are fighting, and all of the older Hachiyou as "-san". In some respects Shimon seems the youngest of the Hachiyou (although this is in fact Inori, because Shimon is more dependent than Inori on other people). However, in terms of his understanding of situations, he can equally appear more mature than Tenma, and is decidedly a thinker and a dreamer rather than a doer.

:Shimon's unusually un-Japanese features stem from his French grandfather, whose appearance he seems to have inherited [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga Volume 6] , though this is never mentioned outside of the manga.

himon the "Oni"

:Shimon's fair hair and blue eyes also mean he is targeted in Kyou with a similar amount of hatred as he is in his own world, although with a more sinister edge to it. In Kyou, the "Oni" clan which the people fear and hate are all fair skinned, with fair hair and eyes, and because of this, from the first moment he appears in Kyou, Shimon is a target for their dislike. It is Yorihisa who first rescues him from being picked on by townsfolk [Hachiyou Shou Anime Episode 2] although he claims his interference was a case of mistaken identity because he was looking for Akane.

:Although Shimon is not from Kyou originally, even some of his fellow Hachiyou are unsure as to whether or not he is a member of the Oni clan. In particular, Shimon's Suzaku partner Inori is very sceptical and downright hostile towards him on several occasions [Hachiyou Shou Anime Episode 8] . In the manga, this mistaken identity leads to Shimon getting confined in a Kyou prison on suspicion of possessing and tainting a young boy's life. [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga Volume 8] . In the anime, Shimon's innocence is proven far more quickly to be the work of Sefuru, the youngest member of the Oni clan.

:In both the anime and the manga, Shimon is befriended by Sefuru in a strange kind of way. In the first instance, Sefuru believes Shimon is like him - and then believes he's betrayed his clan by associating with the Hachiyou. For this reason he decides to set Shimon up, although he does not know till afterwards that Shimon is a Hachiyou. In the manga, Sefuru is captured and placed in prison in Shimon's place thanks to Tomomasa's scheming. In both cases, the relationship between the two boys is soured, although Shimon persists in believing that Sefuru is both lonely and wanting friends (a fact which is probably true).

:Because of his experiences as a mistaken "Oni", Shimon is probably the Hachiyou who most wants peace between the two clans. To hide his appearance, he often has to travel round the city cloaked and hooded.

himon, Tenma and Akane

:For the most part, Shimon's relationship with Akane in the anime is more or less that of friend or brother - on occasions he seems to be protecting her, on others he's someone she can confide in, and equally, Akane often confides in him, too. In this respect he is far more open than Tenma to such heart-to-hearts, and for this reason the two of them have a close bond. There is no real indication in the anime that Shimon sees Akane as anything more than a very dear sister/friend figure, and someone he admires and looks up to. For much of the manga, too, this is the case.

:However, in volume 12 of the manga, Shimon admits to Inori that he thinks he has feelings for Akane beyond friendship. Despite this fact, though, he seems reluctant to tell her or even get involved in it, knowing as he does that Tenma also likes Akane. [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De Manga Volume 12]

:Shimon admires Tenma's strength and often looks to him for protection or support. When they are initially separated in Kyou, Shimon greets Tenma with a tearful yell and a wild hug, indicating that their relationship is more brotherly than it is simply friends. [Hachiyou Shou Episode 2] It is probably this reason which makes Shimon hold back on confessing his feelings to Akane.

:Shimon's wish is that he and Akane and Tenma can always be friends, and he even expresses in the first episode how much he wants to go to the same school as them and finally be in High School instead of Middle School. He mentions wanting to make 'lots of new friends' [Hachiyou Shou anime Episode 1] but the fact he chooses to walk the long way with them instead of the short way suggests that it's also their company (and perhaps protection) that he is missing.

Other Information

:"The closing theme to Episode 15, after Inori and Shimon bury their grievances is Mille-Feuille Dream, sung by Shimon's seiyuu Miyata Kouki."

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