Shirogane Ryou

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Revision as of 05:18, 4 November 2008

Shirogane Ryou

Shirogane Ryou (白金 稜) appeared in the very first "episode" of Kokoro back on January 23, 2004. Ryou is most known for leading and creating the original Mew Mews.

History

Before Kokoro

Ryou was born in New York City in the United States of America to Jishou and Elizabeth Shirogane. Even as a child, Ryou's life was unordinary. After entering the public school system, it was discovered that he was a child prodigy with an IQ over 180. Ryou tended to be a shy loner during the school day, but was notorious for getting into mischief back at home, fueled by his questions and curiosity about the world. He did, however, have two close childhood friends: Roy Bancroft and Sarah Cohen. The three were their own trio, mirroring the trio that had been created by the boys' fathers with the addition of Max Mizuhara (Noru's father). Together the three would go off on their own adventures with Ryou most often being the one to get them into trouble.

Being an only child, Ryou was naturally spoiled and very close to his parents when they were around, especially to his father whom he greatly admired. After reading his father's research log, Ryou decided that he was going to become a scientist too and began experimenting in the labs on his own. His drive for wanting to know more about science could be credited with finally breaking the ice between Ryou and his father's assistant, Akasaka Keiichiro, as well as starting a friendly rivalry that the two kept between themselves.

When Ryou was ten years old, a fossil his father had been studying in the basement lab came to life and set the house ablaze, supposedly killing both of the boy's parents in the process. After the funeral, he travelled to Tokyo with Keiichiro (now his guardian) to complete his father's research which was the foundation for what became the Mew Project. Cafe Mew Mew was erected to serve as their cover and base of operations. During this time Ryou continued with his schooling, absorbing as much knowledge as he could, but any intention of him returning to the States - or to his family and friends - soon vanished. He decided that reuniting with the others would just be a painful reminder of that loss for both sides, and thus a big mistake.

At about fourteen, the experimental stages of the Mew Project had been completed, but there had yet to be a human test subject to see how the animal DNA would react. Ryou voluntarily became the guinea pig and injected himself with Iriomote Wildcat DNA in the right side of his neck despite Keiichiro's protests. Following the successful completion of the test, Keiichiro was placed in charge of the project, and the two gathered the girls of Tokyo Mew Mew a few months later.

Kokoro Days

After the defeat of Deep Blue, Ryou didn't really have any true goals. The Mew Project continued as more Chimera Anima and aliens appeared, but the encounters began to die down, and that chapter of the Mew Project would come to a close.

Ryou's life took an unexpected turn when Momomiya Ichigo asked him to marry her. Knowing it was most likely a prank of some sort, or the result of sugar high, Ryou agreed to it on account of his unspoken feelings for her. Staging a mock wedding, Ryou saw this as an opportunity to put his feelings on the table, and if they went unnoticed, he could use the entire instance to torment her later. It was soon apparent, however, that something was happening between them.

Furthermore, children began appearing, apparently from the future, claiming to be Ryou's - and others' - offspring. Before this, Ryou had never really taken the idea of parenting seriously. It was one of these children, Shirogane Kyr, and his future daughter, Shirogane Akari, who eventually convinced Ryou to take up the study of magic, explaining that he had the potential to become a time mage. Unbeknownst to Ryou, his own family was actually a magical lineage and had been throughout the generations if not for a certain curse. Prior to this discovery, Ryou had a very negative view towards mages, thinking the practices they lived by to be underhanded and suspicious.

Yet another challenge came to Ryou's life when he discovered through Doctor Andrews that his mother was still alive. A few months later, Ryou discovered that his father had been revived and was living in New York under the name James Beaumont due to amnesia. Eventually the entire family was brought back together, although Ryou has mixed feelings about returning to the sort of life that the rest of his family enjoys, favoring his privacy and independence. He had moved back into the New York mansion with his extended relatives at one point, but he tends to spend most of his time in an apartment in Tokyo with Ichigo where things are more peaceful.

Ryou still remains very aloof and looks at things in a serious and oftentimes critical manner, but he has also opened up more to certain people and to new ways of thinking, not the least of these magic, which he has finally credited to his prior fear of thunderstorms. Apparently there was an accident when he was still a small child that triggered his magic for the first time. Because Ryou knew nothing about it, the magic went out of control, and ever since Ryou associated his fear with storms rather than his own ability. This might also explain why he didn't trust the mages at first or accept the existence of magic so many years later, although in his heart he knew.

At Hoshizen Academy Ryou maintained decent grades. He formally graduated on October 4th, 2008.

He is currently working out an alternative path to the future. Ryou has decided to fully embrace the path of an adult, enjoying his freedom while still maintaining an unshakeable sense of responsibility. Because he could not reject the existence of magic when taking placement tests for the science department at Tokyo University, Ryou decided that his research would not be viewed seriously and that he could not continue on at the establishment. Rather than failing the test, as he explained it, he failed to complete it. He then made plans to transfer to Greenlaw College in Europe. While not studying, Ryou reads an assortment of books, including - but not limited to - novels, scientific journals, magic texts, and yes, parenting manuals. The rest of his time is divided among checking up on people in Tokyo, gathering connections, sleeping, and staying up on current events.

Kokoro Draft Future

As was seen in Kisa's timeline, Ryou went on to marry Ichigo and the two remained in the cafe, giving birth to Shirogane Kisa, Masume and Ami in that timeline. His future counterpart is described frequently as a "bishie" (i.e. bishounen). He became a biology professor at Tokyo University and apparently retained his knowledge as a time mage.

Other-Worldly Counterparts

Ryou exists in many dimensions, although his outer person and history varies somewhat in each.

• American Mew Mew: In this dimension, the accident never occured, so Ryou was able to grow up at his own pace back in New York with his parents and a little brother, Shirogane Shuugo whom he is highly protective of. Currently a student at Princeton, this Ryou tends to be carefree and generally friendly, although he can still pull off sarcasm. He is more experienced in magic than Kokoro's Ryou, and seems to take to it with ease, but he has alluded to not being the genius that his counterpart is; he is also not quite as tall. The two do not get along well. AMM's Ryou has been called "Sunshine" as a reference to his bright personality. Apparently he doesn't like Akasaka Keiichiro. He is romantically linked to Midorikawa Retasu whom he has a huge crush on.
• Chrono Mew Mew: Here Ryou married Midorikawa Retasu, and together they had three children: Shirogane Kyr, Takeru, and Razuberri. The professor is noted to be "hot" according to the Kokoro girls. He is a time sage and prefers a quiet life with his family.
• Fairy Mew Mew: Ryou was married to Momomiya Ichigo. The children were Anzu and Sugar. Unlike his other counterparts, Fairy's Ryou was injected with normal housecat DNA. He has no magical abilities, and is often seen engaging in childish arguments with his wife or just simply trying to avoid the insanity that goes on in the cafe.
• Mini Mew Mew: The Shirogane family moved to Tokyo in this dimension, where Ryou and his little sister, Kumo are still children. His magical abilities are largely undeveloped, save for his ability to travel between dimensions. He has a magic-based attack using his "Book O' Science" to read his enemies to sleep.
• Mirror Mew Mew: Like in Chrono Mew Mew, Ryou was married to Midorikawa Retasu. He had two children (Kyr and Mushi) this time. In this dimension his parents are alive and well. Shirogane Shuugo also exists here. As with most of his other counterparts, Mirror's Ryou has magical ability.
• Concerto Mew Mew: In this dimension, Ryou formed a Mew Mew team using sound-based abilities to take on the aliens; he himself took up the violin. Ryou marries Ichigo after the aliens are defeated, and they have Kouji. Later on, when Ichigo is murdered, Ryou starts exploring the dangerous realm of magitechnology in order to bring her back. Most of his relatives and friends became convinced that he had lost it shortly before his death. Kouji was left in Gamu's care.

Personality

Strict and generally no-nonsense, Ryou follows through his responsibilities with grave seriousness. He strives to complete things efficiently and in a professional manner. His walls are high; he's a closed book. Ryou will absorb the things that go on around him, learning what he can, but will say little of himself. Cryptic, could describe him very well. He seems to be most at ease around his girlfriend or around Kocha who reminds him greatly of himself as a child and has similar aspirations. Ryou will offer general opinions and maybe a stray pearl of wisdom, but he prefers to hide behind an impartial "cool" facade.

Behind the scenes? Ryou's trying his hardest at all that he does.

Relationships

Family

Big. Very big. Ryou doesn't mind spending time with them at all, in fact, he likes his family a lot, but their parties tend to be a little too rambunctious for his tastes. Ryou was never big on social events, and that still holds true today. Already he is starting to focus on whether or not he'll be able to fulfill his role as the head of his own family with Ichigo whenever the time comes - which will probably take a while.

Friends

Numerous, though most are kept at arm's distance. Ryou gets along with people well enough and has somehow avoided being associated too closely with just one group of people - a freedom he has come to appreciate. As a child, Roy and Sarah were his closest friends. After the accident, it was Keiichiro who became Ryou's lifeline and remained that way for a long time afterwards. Gamu, Ichigo, and others have served as much-needed confidants in the past, too.

Lovelife

• Sarah Cohen is one of Ryou's childhood friends. When they were little, Ryou and Sarah made a promise to one day get married and considered themselves "boyfriend and girlfriend". After the accident and Ryou's departure, Sarah decided to leave New York in order to search for him. Sarah eventually stumbled upon the cafe, but by that time Ryou had moved on. When Sarah expressed that she still had feelings for Ryou, he began to question his own feelings, but was convinced that the person he really loved was Ichigo. Sarah remains a very close friend to Ryou and a very important person in his life.

• Though the road has been a rocky one, Momomiya Ichigo is the person Ryou loves and cares about the most. Ryou began to develop feelings for her around the time the Mew Mews were beginning to come together, though he knew that she was in love with Aoyama Masaya and had resigned to keeping said feelings to himself. However, things began to gradually change, and soon enough he found his own affections being returned after the couple broke up. Ryou and Ichigo are known to have a history full of petty arguments, however, as of late things have been fairly smooth sailing with them actually developing a happy relationship behind the scenes. Of course, this does not stop Ryou from teasing her every so often just to see her get angry, blush madly, or turn into a cat if he's lucky. It's also a very bad idea to let them play party games alone, as they will use the opportunity to torment one another. Ryou seems to respect Ichigo for thinking about others' feelings before her own, and though he calls her stingy when he doesn't get his way with her, she's the person more than anyone else that he's comfortable with.

• While Ryou had fallen for Ichigo, Midorikawa Retasu had developed a strong crush on Ryou during the same time. Ryou made many attempts to be kind and help the shy girl find confidence in herself as well as inner strength, however he had failed to realize that Retasu's friendship with him had the potential to become anything more. Before she could confess her love for him, Ichigo had already proposed. Though this has caused many hard feelings between Ryou and others, Ryou did appologize quite sincerely for his inability to notice this, and also for not being able to see Retasu as more than a friend. This misunderstanding is largely responsible for his strained relationship with Kyr.

• Following one of their fights, Ryou ended up injecting Kiki Reikaira, or Gamu, with cat DNA, much to her utter horror, but later devised an antidote to return her to normal. While he ran her off once after discovering she was in love with him, he seems to have accepted that she doesn't have any place else to go. The two share a number of similar fears and beliefs, but he has made it clear that his true loyalties lie with Ichigo, and that he can only consider Gamu as a good friend. Despite his lack of romantic interest in her, he takes most opportunities that arise to flirt with her just to see her blush.

• He is adored by both RAz and the Ryou Shirogane Love Corporation. He tries to only acknowledge that the former one of the two exists.

Profile

• Name Translation: "Ryou"- majesty, power, edge/corner "Shiro"- white, "Gane"- gold/money (together the two roughly mean platinum)
• Alias: Spark[y], Poptart/Pops, Mr. Ryou, [O]Niichan/-san/-sama, Ryou-kun, Ryler, Shirogane-senpai, "you muffin", "punk", NiiNii, Blondie
• Signature Colors: Black and red
• Age: 20 (his age ignores the missing year)
• Birthday: October 13th, 1988
• Zodiac: Libra/Rooster (based on personality)
• Grade: Graduate Student at Tokyo University
• Hair Color: Blond
• Eye Color: Aquamarine blue
• Height: 5 feet 10 inches
• Weight: 158 lbs
• I.Q.: 187 (canonically it was "over 180")
• Likes: His family/friends, technology/science (genetics/molecular biology, astronomy, caves), cats, reading, surfing/snowboarding, dance/music, learning
• Dislikes: Insanity/chaos, when people have no confidence in themselves, fangirls/fanboys, being misunderstood/rejected/teased, being asked too many questions
• Fears: Nothing he'll reveal willingly
• Allergies: Bee stings (all kinds)
• Has trouble with: Being open, controlling his curiosity
• Talents: Melodramatic speeches
• Favorite foods: Pancakes with syrup, soba noodles
• Least favorite foods: Anything too spicy
• Favorite beverage: Coffee with milk, water
• Blood Type: A
• Injection Mark: The standard Mew symbol (like Ichigo's) on the right side of his neck
• Animal: Iriomote Wildcat

• Appearance: Ryou's pretty tall (his height is mostly in his legs). He has a slightly tanned complexion, but overall has the appearance of your average American teenager. Ryou has switched to a button-up cotton version of his usual black vest and wrist bands as opposed to arm bands, along with boots, to give off a more casual and less "punkish" impression. Additionally, his "wedding band" is on his left ring finger (though he's not officially married). Other accessories are pretty much worn on-and-off, and his style of clothing will switch back and forth. He usually wears black. Ryou's far-sighted, and his vision seems to be getting worse, so he's seen wearing glasses more frequently in the evenings, though he ditches them whenever possible or wears contacts instead. He gave his collar to Ichigo, so he goes nowadays without it. There hasn't been much of a commotion about his mark, so he doesn't bother hiding it.

Alto

Alto (アルト) is Ryou's basic gijinka form. This transformation occurs at will and has a duration of ten minutes. A transformation longer than this will result in Ryou becoming stuck as a cat permanently unless the effects are undone by a gijinka mage. As Alto, a small gray kitten, Ryou dones a green bandana. Alto once had a crooked tail as a result of the incomplete fusion (a genetic mutation). Alto's main weapons are his teeth, claws, and increased mobility. Ryou cannot perform magic in this form.

Mage Information

• Element: Time (teal aura)

Though he has some ranged magic spells, Ryou prefers a fast-paced fight at close range. His magic isn't very powerful, so he works best when he isn't fighting alone or out-of-battle where his time-tweaking abilities can be more of use.

Weapon

• Astral Muse: Actually a combination of two items styled similarly to a pair of antique clock hands. The long hand takes the form of a staff while the short hand is a short blade which he rarely (if ever) uses.

Abilities

• Galaxy Transport: Ryou can teleport himself to other locations and times within Kokoro or to other dimensions if he knows the correct coordinates. Overusing this technique drains him of energy quickly, and leaping through time will almost definitely make him sick afterwards. This ability is used outside of battle.
• Hearten: Ryou channels most of his magical energy from his heart, so if he is feeling particularly happy, his attacks will be stronger and more accurate. If he's depressed, tired, or just being apathetic, the opposite will happen (ie. Dishearten).
• Bearing Witness: Ryou can sense in general terms how much longer a person has to live (ie. if their signal is weak, they will die soon; if it's strong, they would naturally have a long life ahead of them). This does not mean, however, that he can foresee a person's death by unnatural means or "wrong-place-wrong-time" events, he can only detect the ticking of inner clocks.

Signature Attacks

Unison Attacks

• ___ Era: Combines Ryou's Acceleration with any basic elemental attack to allow spells of that element to strike more quickly (ie. decreased casting time) until another Unison Attack is performed by either side or the battle is over.

Stats

• Strengths: Speed/Agility
• Average: Recovery/Focus/Mentality
• Weaknesses: Defense/Offense/Technique

Trivia

• A counterpart of Ryou from SPARCK appears in alleyWAY as Royal Sterling.
• Incidentally, "Stardust Breaker" (also credited as Soul Punisher) is a lethal attack used by Gogeta in the 12th Dragonball Z movie, The Rebirth of Fusion.
• Ryou was once in a kissing bet with Gamu. Adding to Ryou's kissing list was at one point a running gag.