Kai Harn is one of the Three Sorcerer Generals under Thunder Empress Arshes Nei, one of the Divine Kings of the Rebel Armies.
Appearance[]
Kai has wild unruly blue hair at mid-length which makes her look rather tomboyish. She's quite fit and tout, with a buxom figure not unlike a good deal of the female cast. She has brown eyes in the manga.
In the 1992 anime, she wears a set of red armor consisting of a breastplate, long shoulder plates, gauntlets and greaves. Underneath she wears dark navy blue leotard with matching stockings and sleeves and a white cape. Her standard short sword is tied around her waist hanging from her left side.
In the 2022 anime, for her first appearance she wears a full set of black armor with a chestplate that hides her ample breasts, giving her a masculine bishonen appearance at first glance. She wears a set of pale purple lavender halter top with red straps on the back and black panties below the armor, white a white cloak that hangs underneath the top of her armor. She keeps her sword and scabbard on the back.
Personality[]
She despises men and believes in the strong bond of the Sorcerer Generals. Unlike her colleagues however, Kai Harn is an honorable warrior, confronting her enemies upfront and not relying on underhanded tactics, instead relying on her own strength, power and magical skills. She's fiercely loyal to Arshes Nei, and will execute whoever tries to betray her.
However her misandry might as well be unfounded or completely hypocritical. As Dark Schneider points out, Kai Harn hates men because they consider women weak, yet she did not bother on correcting him when he first mistook her for a "handsome man", not helped by the fact she did dress and acted like one. She considered Sean Ari a traitor because she weakly fell for DS' spell, but instead of attacking her she attacked him during the whole fight. Because of this rather than hating men, Kai hates weakness in anyone, herself included, and will strive to become stronger and defeat whoever insults her prowess.[1]
History[]
Kai was an orphan of the Golem War, and grew up alongside Sean Ari, and Sean's brother Ran Di.[2] Kai was Arshes Nei's favorite pupil among the Sorcerer Generals[3], and remained undefeated by anyone except Nei until her fight with Dark Schneider.[4]
Kai Harn first appears before Dark Schneider as he is moving through a village where everyone has been turned to stone. She first orders her orcs to attack Dark Schneider, and then engages in battle with him herself. After Dark Schneider breaks her sword and armor with his Fire Sword, she attempts to petrify him using the Talas spell.[4] Before she can kill Dark Schneider in his semi-petrified state, Sean Ari shows up to defend him. Careless gloating by Kai gives Dark Schneider the information he needs to break the petrification spell.[1] She then summons a Cockatrice to petrify them both, but shifting winds cause the Cockatrice's petification breath to come back toward Kai, who drops the crystal she was using to control the monster. The now berserk cockatrice attacks Kai, and is then killed by Dark Schneider.[5] Dark Schneider then helps suck the Cockatrice's poison out of Kai, and leaves her in Sean Ari's care, but not before Kai can give Dark Schneider information about his next opponent.[6]
Kai is later be seen alongside Sean in Di-Amon's castle. Having faked being caught by his forces so they would be taken to him, they attempt to kill Di-Amon for his plan to betray Arshes Nei, and steal her and Kall-Su's powers. Their efforts to defeat the vampire prove ineffective, with Kai getting severely injured in the process. After Dark Schneider defeats Di-Amon, Sean takes Kai to the nearby Temple of Cant for healing.[7]
Kai reappears two years after the destruction of Castle Metallicana. It is revealed she has joined the Samurai in fighting Kall-Su's army, and engages Yngwei von Mattström in a short battle over a storehouse of food. Their fight is interrupted by Tia Noto Yoko trapping Yngwei in a powerful spell bound, while ordering Kai and the Samurai to retreat due to more of Kall-Su's forces approaching.[8] Upon the return to the Samurai's Castle, Kai is seen sitting in the castle's hall while Mifune and Joshua speak about Yoko's progress in the last two years.[9]
She is later seen in the dining hall of the castle, watching Yoko yell at Vai Staebe, and wondering if Dark Schneider died in the explosion two years ago as they haven't been able to bring him out of Lucien Renlen since. She is among those present when Jorg Fishes returns to the Samurai Residence, and informs the Samurai of the Sorcerer Shoguns impending attack, before passing away. During the attack she teams up with Yoko to pour oil over Maclalpine's wires to weigh them down. She then teams up with Vai to try to fight the Shoguns' Sphinx with magic, though this proves ineffective due to their spell bounds. Ba Thory attempts to attack her by surprise, though she is saved by Sean. As the attack progresses Sean is stunned by the carnage inflicted by the Shoguns' forces.[10]
After the resurrection of Dark Schneider, Kai witnesses D.S.'s slaughter of the Sphinx, and return inside the castle alongside Vai and Yoko to witness D.S. battle with Maclalpine. Once the battle was over, Kai expresses happiness over the rejoicing of the resurrected samurai, who had been brought back to life by D.S. using Ba Thory's recycling worms.[11]
Following the destruction of their old Castle, the Samurai move into the Headquarters of the Rebel Army along with the leaders of the resistance groups. Kai attends a meeting with the leaders of the resistance forces, who had noticed that the Sorcerer Shoguns were no longer on the front lines. Afterwards, she goes outside, and is found by Joshua Berahia, where they discuss how everyone has changed since Dark Schneider was resurrected. Later that night, she has a dream of being sexually assaulted by Dark Schneider, only to wake up and discover him in her room. D.S. attempts to have sex with her, only for Yoko to intervene, and remain with her the rest of the night. The next day Kai and the other Samurai interrogate an orc prisoner they had captured a few days before, who confesses that the sorcerer Shoguns had left on airships to the lost Elven city of King Crimson Glory to find Sheila Metallicana, and undo the final seal on Anthrasax.[12]
Kai and the other samurai attend a dance from Yoko, celebrating their victory over Kall-su's forces, which led to the capture of the orc. Afterwards, they head to the basement of the castle, under Prince Mercy's command, to discover that it contained an old Elven Gate. After Dark Schneider determines that the teleporter leads to King Crimson Glory, and is convinced to activate it, Kai and many of the other Samurai use it to travel to King Crimson Glory.[13]
Upon arriving at the city the Samurai are stunned at its majesty. One of the Sorcerer Shogun's airships crashes nearby, making the Samurai wonder if anyone could've survived the crash, only for D.S. to sense one of the Shogun, and force him out of hiding with a spell, leading to Bol Gil Bol revealing himself.[13]
The Samurai are quickly immobilized by Bol's Show Bind attack, leaving D.S. to fight the Shogun alone. After D.S. defeats Bol, the group continue on their way to Sheila's location, with a now pacified Bol following them. Before they can get far the group is confronted by Kall-Su over a bridge. Kall attempts to kill the group with one of his spells, but D.S. protects them, though the group falls to the ground below as the bridge is destroyed. The group finds D.S., seemingly killed by Kall's attack. When Vai questions if D.S. would really protect them, Bol defends D.S., pointing out how he did protect them from Kall's attack, and that he was fighting blind this whole time, earning respect from the Samurai. The group is shocked when D.S. suddenly awakens, and flies off to continue his fight with Kall.[14]
As the Samurai continue making their way to Sheila's location, they stop when Yoko comments about sensing D.S.'s death against Kall-Su. The group is shocked when Angus Yarn speaks for the first time, about this development with D.S., and his body begins to open up revealing Angus to be a robot suit piloted by Abigail. After Abigail explains he is no longer an enemy, he reveals to the group that D.S. is still alive, and that one of the mini-D.S. created when the Shogun airship had fallen on him had latched itself on Yoko's butt. Using a magic hammer he restores D.S. to his true size, resurrecting the wizard. Their celebration over D.S.'s revival is interrupted by the arrival of some of the Sorcerer Shogun, who the Samurai engage in battle so that D.S. can continue his fight with Kall-Su. As the battle between the two wizards intensifies, the Samurai and Shogun halt their fight, to observe the wizards duel.[15]
The assembled Samurai and Sorcerer Shogun react in shock as the battle leads to Kall-Su killing himself in a moment to clarity, to free himself from Anthrasax's control, the final seal on Anthrasax being broken due to the dark powers released by Kall-Su and Dark Schneider's fight, and the dark god mutating its cells around Kall-Su's body into a horrible monster under its control. As the remaining Divine Kings begin fighting the monster, to protect the injured Dark Schneider from its attacks, the Samurai and Shogun join forces to fight it in a large battle. After a resurrected Kall-Su breaks free from the monster, the assembled warriors watch and Dark Schneider and Kall-Su destroy the creature with their combined powers. The Samurai witness the tearful reunion of D.S. and Arshes Nei, as well as that of Kall-Su and his Sorcerer Shogun, as well as seeing the threat given by by project of Anthrasax above King Crimson Glory.[16]
As Anthrasax and the Demon Gods awaken, and being moving toward the flying city, the assembled forces are teleported across the city's interior by the Ten Wise Men of Europa. Joshua ends up teleported alongside the other Samurai, as well as the Sorcerer Shoguns Ran Di and Zion. The group discuss the background of the Ten Wise Men, as well as their connection to the Dragon Knight, coming to the conclusion that, if they can find a way to use the Dragon Knight, they can still stop Anthrasax.[17]
When the Demons Gods being their attack on King Crimson Glory, the group is forced to defend themselves from the Demon Gods' minions, who have infiltrated the ship. They are shocked to see Prince Mercy appear, who has made a deal with the Demon Gods to gain power out of revenge for the Samurai "neglecting" him. Mercy transforms into a large monster, who the group does battle against.[18]
When Dark Schneider and Anthrasax being their battle aboard the flying city, the group is able to feel the massive auras of the two fighting, and resolve to defeat Mercy, and reach D.S. to help him fight the Demon God. As Dark Schneider manages to defeat Anthrasax, the group is able to feel the shock waves from the high level magics used by D.S. to defeat the Demon.[19]
As the battle with prince Mercy continues, the Samurai take critical injuries against the monster, with Vai losing an arm, and Kai losing one of her legs. Joshua picks up the injured Kai, and beings carrying her. Ran Di and Zion stay behind to give the Samurai time to flee, and to attempt to destroy the monster Mercy has become. Their attempts to flee prove pointless, as Mercy has multiplied himself into a horde of monsters that the fleeing Samurai run into. As the Samurai try fighting the horde of Mercy monsters, Jorg is killed attempting to block one of their attacks, with Schen also being killed in the attack. Vai, attempting to give Joshua and Kai more time to flee, prepares to use the Samurai's ultimate move against the monsters.[20]
As safety shutters close between Joshua and Kai, and Vai, Vai uses the Shikon Kyokushin Martial Arts technique to turn his life force into power, and attack the Mercy creature. Vai dies in the attack, whose power warps the shutters between them, and destroys the Mercy monster he was fighting. Joshua continues to try to escape the rest of the monsters, still holding Kai. When Kai regains consciousness, the two share a conversation about the meaning of hope, how Dark Schneider's extreme moods represent the nature of humanity, and why humans are both with such contradictory traits as love and hate. Their conversation is cut short when another Mercy monster appears out of the floor itself, and blasts Joshua in the back, breaking through his armor, as he tries to shield Kai Harn from the attacks.[21]
After the four year time skip, Kai Harn is seen alongside Sheila Metallicana, Sean Ari, and Geo Noto Soto, greeting representatives from various races who have banded together to lift the seal on the moon, and stop Satan's Negative Genesis plan.[22]
Abilities and Equipment[]
Kai Harn is a powerful warrior with proficient magic skills and far more impressive swordsmanship. Like Nei, she uses the orthodox sword techniques of the Hariken School and is a proud magic swordsman. She's able to cast Ancient Language Spells that turn her enemies into stone. Her strength is said to be greater then that of 100 orcs.[23]
Equipment:[]
- Armor: After joining the Samurai Kai gets a set of magic armor. This armor floats around her body, and the pseudo-sentient horns protect her from enemy attacks though defense instincts and remote sensors.[24]
- Gibson Sword: A magical sword that can create flames and lightning when magic is channeled into it.[25]
Swordsmanship:[]
She's excellent in the use of the sword, with expertise on the ancient style Hariken Slashing Implosion School, the most ancient and classical way of the sword.[4] Her Hariken sword techniques repertoire consists of:
- Armor Attack Demon Blade: A powerful sword strike able to cut Anthrasax's cells.
- Dragon Blast Demon Slash: By drawing quickly her sword, Kai Harn launches several strikes that cut an enemy from afar.
- Yogeki Hyakuretsuzan: The attacker use several slashes at incredible speed.
Magic:[]
She's very skilled in the use of high ancient secret magic. Some of her spells include:
- Bonfire: Creates a wave of fire in front of the caster.
- Illusion: She's able to cast illusions of herself in order to avoid being hit by enemies.
- Dio: A spell which thrusts forward a beam of magic energy.
- Summoning: She can summon a Cockatrice and control it with a crystal.
- Talas: A spell that turns living creatures to stone down to their blood.
Important Battles[]
- Dark Schneider and Sean Ari vs Kai Harn (Chapter 18 - Chapter 21) - Lose
- Dark Schneider, Sean Ari and Kai Harn vs Di-Amon (Chapter 24 - Chapter 27) - Won
Trivia[]
- Kai is a follower of the god Yng Wie.
- Kai is named after Kai Hansen, the singer and guitarist of german power metal bands Helloween and Gamma Ray.
- Interestingly enough, she shares her namesake with Guilty Gear deuteragonist Ky Kiske. Daisuke Ishiwatari, creator of the Guilty Gear franchise, is admittedly a fan of Bastard!! and as such the visual design of the games is largely inspired on that of the manga.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bastard!! v3. Petrified
- ↑ Bastard!! Data Book
- ↑ Bastard!! v2. Warning of Danger
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Bastard!! v3. The Youth
- ↑ Bastard!! v3. Unleash the Beast
- ↑ Bastard!! v3. Battle Hymns
- ↑ Bastard!! v3. The Progenitor - v4. Accused
- ↑ Bastard!! v8. Metamorphosis
- ↑ Bastard!! v8. Fate
- ↑ Bastard!! v9. The Stormwind
- ↑ Bastard!! v9. Dawning
- ↑ Bastard!! v10. Ice and Snow
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Bastard!! v10. Realm of the Demon
- ↑ Bastard!! v11. The Holy War Pt. 1
- ↑ Bastard!! v11. The Holy War Pt. 2
- ↑ Bastard!! v12. The Holy War III - A Gathering
- ↑ Bastard!! v13. Funeral March - I
- ↑ Bastard!! v13. Funeral March - II
- ↑ Bastard!! v14. The Deciding Battle
- ↑ Bastard!! v14. The Descent - II
- ↑ Bastard!! v15. Descent III
- ↑ Bastard!! v24. Defender of the Faith I - III
- ↑ Bastard!! v3. The Progenitor
- ↑ Bastard!! v10. Design Collection
- ↑ Bastard!! Data Book (p. 159)