ooc :: info
[character name]: Kanda Yuu
[canon]: D.Gray-man
[point taken from canon]: manga chapter 180
[age]: 18.
[gender]: male.
[sexual orientation]: irrelevant undeclared in canon.
[eye color]: dark blue.
[hair color]: black.
[height]: 1.75 m
[other]: skinny.
[clothing]: Exorcist uniform, current version shown here.
...c/ping this part from his application:
[background]:
I suppose the best way to describe the world that’s still paying a karmic debt of some sort and hosting Kanda is to say it’s a 19th century AU of RL!Europe, except a rather obese circus freak is terrorizing mankind with a battalion of last season’s Toys’R’Us leftovers.
…or something like that.
The Millennium Earl is in the business of making akuma / demons, in order to capture bits and pieces of Innocence, the material that merges with a select few individuals of its choice, granting them anti-akuma weapons. Usually, these people decide they want to play heroes and join the Black Order, the Vatican’s l33t organization of anti-akuma warriors, Exorcists; sometimes, said people get kidnapped and forced into it.
Although the akuma have lately come to “evolve” in form and ability, they’re reasonably small fry, compared to the Noah, a group of the Earl’s allies, gifted with a pretty Godmodding set of abilities, among which the power to reduce Innocence to scrap.
Either side wins if they’re first to get their lovely paws on the Heart, a sliver of Innocence that is just that special, governing over the other pieces. The Heart can be located in either a current Exorcist, or somewhere in Outer Space; it has been recently suspected of being found in Exorcist Lenalee Lee.
Not much is known about Kanda prior to his joining the Black Order as a Japanese recruit under the deeply regretted tutelage of General Froi Tiedoll / Theodore. He served with the Order, fell in one-sided love with soba, acquainted Lenalee Lee and Lavi, and somehow failed to commit the mass murder of his fellow victims under the Tiedoll tyranny, Daisya Barry and Noise Marie. He also looked like a prissy little girl while doing it, and frequently got mistaken for one.
At some (unknown) point in time, he ended up with a tattoo on his chest, and a lotus flower in an hourglass, on his nightstand (some say this is very touching); said tattoo gives him very strong regenerative abilities, granting him immunity from the akuma virus, and pretty much raising him from the dead. Whenever the tattoo’s power saves his life, the lotus loses a petal, and the tattoo increases in size (and sometimes, changes shape). Kanda’s restorative powers wane gradually, as more lotus petals are lost. It is implied, but not certified, that he will die when the lotus has lost all of its petals.
Perhaps unrelatedly, Kanda has stated that he can’t die until he finds an (anonymous) someone. Fanon tradition links the lotus, tattoo and this particular person. I don’t like to speculate on this issue for RP purposes, but I guess it was worth putting down.
At the age of 18, Kanda was the first Exorcist to greet Allen Walker - naturally, with the sharp end of his sword. To Kanda’s excuse, he’d received a memo that the boy was an enemy threat, knocking at the Black Order’s gates. He may or may not have ridden a broom while making his ominous entrance. We call this Kanda’s manliest moment of manga fame.
He accompanied Allen, hereby “Beansprout,” or “That Thing Which Will Meet a Very Painful Death by My Hand” in his first mission to the city of Martel(l).
Kanda was later deployed to secure the safety of the (now targeted) Black Order Generals. He was reunited with Daisya Barry and Noise Marie, and sent to hunt down Froi Tiedoll (much to Kanda’s exasperation). They lost Daisya to Tyki Mikk, but found Tiedoll all the same. (this is quite possibly also the only moment when we see Kanda genuinely upset.)
He met up with Allen Walker, Lavi, Lenalee, and Crowley in the Ark, the Millennium Earl’s vehicle giant device. Since they were dealing with a countdown, and since it was fairly probable that none of his not-friends could handle it, Kanda stayed behind to cover their escape and fight off the Noah of Wrath, Skin Boric.
An Extreme Showdown took place. Kanda lost a lot of thing. He lost his hair tie. He lost his shirt. He lost his dignity. And Skin Boric would still not die. After a number of very risky attacks, Kanda pretty much launched a self-sacrificing technique, that knocked down both Skin Boric, and a number of petals off the lotus. He is, to date, the only Exorcist who has permanently killed a Noah. It shattered his Innocence in the process, and gained him a significantly larger tattoo.
Things didn’t look so good for Kanda, when the Ark started collapsing. He ended up in the rubble, and more or less in another dimension. Thankfully, not dead, but close to as much. He was returned to the living realm after Allen Walker restored the Ark, saving the day. Kanda grabbed the depleted / run over Crowley on the way, and went to regroup with Lavi, Lenalee and Allen. Yes, still shirtless.
Once returned to the Black Order HQ, Kanda submitted his Innocence for a check-up and restoration, and had to use a training sword to hold off a solid number of the akuma led in a surprise attack by the Noah Lulubell. He saved the life of Komui, Lenalee’s brother and the Black Order’s Supervisor, losing another lotus petal in the process, and got Mugen safe and sound at the end of the day. Much manly bonding was had with Lavi and Allen.
I… don’t know whether the “filler” arcs of DGM are formally considered to be a part of the story or not, though it should be said that Kanda did nothing remarkable during them: he was chibified, and part of a … zombie… incursion, respectively. Since those chapters were clearly written in for comedic effect, I don’t think I would be basing my characterization on them too much.
Kanda was later assigned to a mission focused on Timothy, a little body-thieving brat, suspected of controlling Innocence. He arrived with Allen Walker at the orphanage hosting Timothy, got himself involved in a number of interesting body swap scenarios, and witnessed the appearance of Timothy’s true Innocence, Divine Possession, during an akuma attack.
[personality]:
Kanda’s the classical anime example of someone who has very little personality on his own, but of whom you get a feeling through his interactions with others. His profile states that he hates “too many things to list,” which certainly seems to fit the more violent aspect of his character. When it comes to minor issues, he’ll blow a fuse easily, grow exasperated on the tip of a hat, and usually inflict bodily, or verbal harm on anything and everything. He’s known to look down on Finders, the Order’s associates who aren’t compatible with Innocence and who generally perform the more bureaucratic tasks, or reconnaissance. He has very little sympathy for public weakness, and doesn’t really “talk things out.” You’re likelier to get a “fuck you” out of him than a “hullo.”
This shouldn’t be taken to mean that Kanda’s oblivious. He’s actually strangely more perceptive than a number of his outgoing ‘friends,’ when it comes to the things that really matter; he’s the one that more or less calms Lenalee’s concerns before the HQ attack, and also the one who pushes Komui to take care of her after. He tells Allen Walker than he can’t be both Exorcist and akuma-sympathizer to his face, and he is blunt enough to admit that yes, Allen’s potentially becoming a Noah is a problem. That he does all these things in the most obnoxious ways possible doesn’t take away from the quality of his observations. (It just means he’s a douche.)
When it comes to fighting, Kanda does indeed give his all. For someone who knows he’s on borrowed time, you’d expect a liiiiiittle bit more moderation, but Kanda repeatedly takes on very strong enemies, often knowing that his odds of victory are very, very slim. ( The general attitude tends to be, “Fuck you, and fuck your legion.”) He usually prevails out of stubbornness. If Skin Boric was the ickle bug that wouldn’t just die already, then Kanda Yuu was the God of all cockroaches. He refuses to die until he’s achieved his goal, and his desperation to survive frequently wins him a match. It’s that simple in shounen titles.
Kanda may be a grouch, and a very effeminate one at that, but he isn’t without redeeming qualities. He’s fiercely loyal to the Order’s goal of taking out akuma, and for all that he bitches and moans that he doesn’t care, he’s usually taken aback when his friends suffer any sort of setback, and generally there to cover their backs. Coldly, inelegantly, bitingly - but there.
[specialties / abilities]:
He has the kind of awesome regenerative abilities that put Band Aids out of business.
He is also fast. So incredibly fast, Duracell bunnies are put to shame. He’s fairly fit & flexible, and seems to have a strong understanding of battle strategy - though I don’t think he’d call it “strategy” per se, more a matter of “doing what needs doing to get out alive.” He’s hardly the intellectual sort, who’ll stand on the side, fixing maps and attack sequences.
His Innocence, Mugen, takes the form of a chokuto. Because of its name, the expectation is that it can afford up to six battle techniques, or “illusions.” Only three have been shown to date.
I. Kaichu: Ichigen
Invokes a small swarm of spirit… bugs… that tend to obey his wishes, but haven’t been shown as able to do anything beyond devouring enemies. I don’t personally think they’d qualify as sentient.
II. Ningentou
Mugen more or less transforms into two chained blades, powered by spiritual energy.
III. Hakka Tourou
A very quick movement of eight slashes, executed almost simultaneously. Just because the lotus theme hadn’t been forced hard enough, they more or less resemble a flower.
Shouka & Kinki Sangenshiki
Neither of these are directly connected to Kanda’s Innocence, but do work combined with it. They activate the lotus tattoo, so that Mugen draws power, and Kanda draws speed, strength. The cost is a percentage of Kanda’s life energy. Don’t ask me how it’s calculated. Kanda himself seems unsure of the benefits and limits of these techniques, and seems to shy from using them.
In addition to this, Kanda also has an undisputed talent for making half of humanity feel comparatively proud of its social skills.
[affection]: ...not the affectionate type. Discourages touch of any sort.
[fighting]: He will often put out the sort of 'tude that deserves some bitchslapping. Please feel free to let your character provide it (though fair warning goes that he doesn't tend to sit still and take it. Rope encouraged. Muzzle preferred. See one Allen Walker, Lavi, or Lenalee Lee for further details on the Kanda-chuu's pokemon ball of choice.)
[other facts]: ...he likes gardening. And soba. Quite a lot. He also dislikes it very much indeed when people abuse his first name.
I'll try to update with his impressions on his acquaintances, as soon... as he... makes any.