Hoshizen Academy
From Kokorodatabase
Hoshizen Academy for Magical Beings is the magical school most commonly referred to in Kokoro, since it is the school that the majority of the mages that visit Cafe Mew Mew attend. It is a private, co-educational school run on the outskirts of Tokyo, using a protective barrier to keep non-magical creatures that are not Renaldis out. Most of the time, however, the school is not mentioned in Kokoro other than when the students complain about schoolwork or when the matter of the Hoshizen heirs come into play.
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[edit] History
In the year 1710, twin siblings Hoshizen Taiyou and Tsuki, both human mages, decided to open up a magic school soon after realizing that many humans in Tokyo were losing the ability to cast spells. Since the Hoshizen family was extremely well-off, the task was an easier one than it would have been otherwise, and the school doors opened two years later in the fall of 1712.
Compared to other magical schools in Asian countries, Hoshizen is fairly young. However, their history has been just as rich in more recent years, if not more.
Oddly enough, despite the fact that Hoshizen is only a magical school in Tokyo, the heirs and descendants of the founders have been considered as nobles in status. Examples would be with Hoshizen Daisuke, and how he is considered someone important enough to have guardians with him. Another would be with the Facete family, who are related to Hoshizen Taiyou by blood, and how the two children, Lucas and Juilet, are captives in their own country of France.
[edit] Races Accepted
Traditionally, humanoid races are taught at Hoshizen. The races most resembling animals (Anthros, for example) are taught at another magical school in town. Also, it should be noted that halflings (those who are half-angel, for example) also attend Hoshizen, though they are not listed under any one race.
Note: Non-Humanoid races have been known to attend Hoshizen. However, it's pretty rare, as in the case of the occasional mermaid, fairy, and anthro.
[edit] Curriculum
Like norm schools, Hoshizen has classes going from Pre-Kindergarten to 12th Grade. For classes such as Math, Science, English, and what-not, the students are placed by age in their academic classes.
However, for magic classes (most of which are actually taken after school), the levels are actually a bit different. They have four levels: Rookie, Normal [for those that feel that the rank is insulting, they are also called 'Natural'], Expert, and Sage.
The Rookie rank is for Pre-K, Jr-K, and SK; the Normal/Natural is for elementary 1st-4th graders, Expert for middle school 5th-8th graders, and Sage goes for 9th-12 grade high schoolers. At least, this is the ranking for normal students who have had magic training since they could walk or since they were three years old.
If students come to Hoshizen simply for magic training, their ranks are a little different. For one thing, a Norm/Natural rank can range from 10 years to even 18 or 19. It all depends on the person's actual skill level, and not their age.
[edit] Uniforms
Unlike other fictional magical academies (Hogwarts and Tristain Academy of Magic first come to mind), Hoshizen's uniforms are a little different. By different, the school means that it only requires the students to wear robes as uniforms. Whatever norm clothes the students choose to wear underneath must be within the limits of the semi-loose dress code.
- Rookie: A plain black robe with the Hoshizen crest on the right shoulder.
- Normal/Natural: A black robe with some sort of design on the sleeves depending on the type of magic the student uses. The Hoshizen crest is on the left shoulder.
- Expert: A white robe with some sort of design depending on the type of magic the student uses. The Hoshizen crest is now embedded on both shoulders.*
- Sage: A hooded white sleeveless robe edged with colors. The colors depend on what type of magic the student uses; for example, an earth mage would have the edges covered in green-brown. The Hoshizen crest is no longer needed to be worn on the robe. Instead, the student wears a pin on the right chest-area side to signify who he/she is.
The professors don't have to wear robes to their classes unless they choose to. In that case, then, the robe is a traditional Japanese-style robe. The colors don't matter, since the pattern and styling is enough to distinguish a professor from the students.
[edit] Known Alumni/Students
- Most of the Shirogane Family (Jishou did not attend, since he is a Renaldi), including Shirogane Ryou
- Most of the Hoshizen Family, especially Hoshizen Daisuke
- The members of The Star Six
- Shimizu Arisa
