| Jin | |
|---|---|
| |
| Name | |
| Name | Taiga Amusuran |
| Katakana | タイガ - アムスラン |
| Alias | Jin |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 19 or 20 at start of anime |
| Status | Alive |
| Eye colour | Grey-Brown |
| Hair colour | Brown |
| Height | 1.8m (~5'11")[1] |
| Native country | New Yogo |
| Work-related Information | |
| Occupation | Hunter |
| Position | Second-in-command |
| Weapons | Sword, Shuriken, Blowgun |
| Relationships | |
| Family | unnamed mother †, Lord Amusuran (father, likely deceased), unnamed older brother, Touji Amusuran (younger brother) †, unnamed infant sister †, unnamed sister-in-law, unnamed nephew |
| Friends | Mayuna (fiancee) †, Suyou Rakusuran, the other Hunters, the swordsmith, Chagum, Balsa, Tanda, Shuga (anime) |
| Enemies | Suyou (former), Riyoshuna †, Balsa (former), Hugo, Radou, Karyou, Rarunga (defeated), Shuga (book) |
| Appearance | |
| Anime Debut | Episode 02: Hunters, Hunted |
| Manga | Seirei no Moribito (manga), Jin Gaiden |
| Novel | Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, Guardian of the Dream, Traveller of the Blue Road, Guardian of Heaven and Earth |
| Drama Debut | Season 1, Episode 1 |
| Voice Actor | |
| Japanese | Masaya Matsukaze |
| English | Jason C. Miller |
| Live Action Drama | Satoshi Matsuda |
Jin (ジン) is a Hunter and a descendant of one of the Eight Warriors who helped Emperor Torgal defeat the water demon at New Yogo's founding. His real name is Taiga Amusuran[2]; "Jin" is an alias meaning "two" in Yogoese. In the anime series, he acts as second-in-command of the Hunters and wields blow-darts and shuriken as his unique weapons. When he maintains a cool head, Jin is an effective warrior and keen analyst, much like the other Hunters. In the book, Mon refers to him as the smartest of the Hunters.
Overview[]
In the eponymous gaiden comic published by Square Enix[3], which serves as a tie-in prequel to the anime series, much of his backstory is given. He is the second son of three, but his younger brother, Touji, died of a sudden illness when Jin was about thirteen. His father then began training him in secret as a Hunter, as Jin was now the youngest son. However, since the Hunters are trained from childhood, his father was concerned about the lack of time left to complete the training before his son became a Hunter at 15 (age of majority in New Yogo). He enlisted the help of the Hyoku at that time and his son Suyou in an effort to speed up the training. Suyou was rude and nasty and expressed his belief that Taiga should have died in place of Touji. Eventually, however, they gradually became friends.
As a child, Jin had been betrothed to a friend and neighbor, Mayuna. Mayuna became caught up in court intrigue relating to the betrothal of Prince Sagum (then eleven years old) after becoming a messenger for Lady Ryoshuna Yuguraku. Despite the efforts of the Hunters, Mayuna was assassinated in order to keep Ryoshuna's blackmail plot from being revealed, and she died in Jin's arms. Grief-stricken, he confronted and killed the mastermind of the assassination - the uncle of the Third Empress and head of Yuguraku House - with the help of Suyou, his agemate, and Yun, who aided them secretly.
In the anime, Jin is one of the four initial pursuers sent to retrieve prince Chagum from Balsa. As he is the only one of the four not injured during the fight, Jin separates from the others, saying that he will take the prince back to the palace himself. Instead, Jin attempts to kill him so that Chagum need not die by his own father's hands, knowing though that this act of insubordination would mean Jin's own death. However, he deems it a favour in return for the kindness that the prince showed him earlier in his life. This unexpected kindness makes him particularly sympathetic to Chagum, and he tends to be hot-headed in matters concerning the prince's life. Balsa surprises and disables him before he can kill Chagum, knocking him out with a rock; he survives and recovers from this injury, later fighting alongside her against the Rarunga. He is shown to be short-tempered, impulsive, unswervingly loyal to Chagum, and generally more emotional than the other Hunters. When the Hunters track Balsa and Chagum to the water mill, Mon orders Jin to remain behind for this reason; Yun gives Jin the address before they leave. Later, Jin threatens to kill Soya if he doesn't turn over the prince, and must be told to stand down by Shuga and Torogai; he only does so after inquiring about Chagum's wellbeing.
In the book and its manga adaptation, and in the NHK drama, Jin does not attempt to kill Chagum himself following the initial encounter with Balsa, but is stopped by her while carrying the prince back to the palace; they fight, and she defeats him with the help of the water spirit, whose magic makes the waters of a nearby river rise and sweep him away. In the novel and the manga, Jin is one of only two Hunters present in the fight against the Rarunga (along with Zen) and, after Tanda pushes him out of the way of its claws, he pledges his debt to Tanda for saving his life. In the drama, Jin is the only Hunter present and is not initially an ally. In the drama, Jin tracks Balsa, Tanda, and Chagum to Toumi Village, where he attempts to retrieve the prince himself. However, Rarunga attacks at that moment and grabs hold of his arm. Balsa chops off the arm with her spear to prevent his being torn apart by the Rarunga. The Mikado then declares him unfit to be a Hunter and casts Jin out of his service. Jin gets a metal prosthetic arm with a hidden knife in the hand; he pursues Balsa, seeking vengeance, but ends up aiding her in the final battle against Rarunga. Chagum then tells the Mikado it was Jin, not Balsa, who defeated the monster, and asks his father reinstate Jin as a Hunter as a reward for his heroism.
In the books, Jin appears more than any of the other Hunters. In Guardian of the Dream, he helps save Tanda from the Flower, after promising in the Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit novel to save Tanda's life after Tanda was wounded after pushing Jin out of the path of the rarunga's claws. In Traveler of the Blue Road (and its live-action adaptation), Jin protects Prince Chagum from another assassination attempt, this time by Yun, unsuccesfully tries to help the prince escape captivity in Sangal, and finally helps Chagum to escape from Hugo by telling everyone that the prince committed suicide after Chagum dove into the sea and swam for Rota. Jin sends a message to Balsa informing her of the truth. He also aids Shuga several times (while also threatening to kill him), particularly in finding the Talsh spy in the New Yogo court in Guardian of Heaven and Earth.
His mother died in childbirth, along with his newborn younger sister, when he was a child. His older brother is married, with a newborn son at the time of the gaiden comic, but is never shown elsewhere.
Trivia[]
- He is unmarried at the time of the anime, according to the official fanbook.
- While he carries the blowgun and blowdarts throughout the anime, he only actually uses them in the Seirei no Moribito manga.
Gallery[]
Anime[]
Seirei no Moribito Manga[]
Jin Gaiden Manga[]
References[]
- ↑ Seirei no Moribito model sheets
- ↑ "Jin" Gaiden Comic - Square Enix, 2007
- ↑ Partial fan translation by @platypusbutt