Requin (ルカン) was the leader of Blue Guardians' Six Guards.[1]
Appearance[]
Requin is a well-built man of average height. He keeps his dark hair (coming with a widow's peak) shaved, with a small section on the front shaved further to outline the shape of an anchor; he has gill-like lines under his light-colored eyes and sharp teeth, similar to a shark's. Requin's torso is completely encircled by a large, horizontal scar, located just below his pectorals. Both of his forearms are tattoed with a dark, enlarged version of the anchor symbol on his head, while each of his shoulders bears a dark, outlined rhombus with its inner perimeter adorned by a continuous series of triangles; such figure seemingly stands for the stylized form of a shark's open jaws, with the triangles representing teeth.[2][3]
Requin goes around shirtless, sporting only an ornamental necklace, alternating large pendants shaped like shark teeth (with Acid Rule, his Dark Bring, embedded in one of them) with smaller beads, and plain, dark bands circling his wrists. His pants, dark in color and slightly baggy, bearing the anchor motif on each leg's outer side, are custom made specifically for him, allowing Acid Rule to seep through them; they are held up by a large buckled belt, and wrapped from the knee down in bandages (possessing the same properties as the pants themselves).[4] Requin's dark shoes end in pointed, upturned tips. While outside battle, the leader of the Six Guards dons a highly distinctive piece of outfit covering his upper torso and head: this sports a tall, pointed hood shaped like a shark's head with its jaws open unnaturally wide, complete with eyes, nostrils and teeth; the whole thing is connected via the lower jaw, located in correspondence to Requin's upper chest, to a sleeveless dark garment revealing his lower torso. This ensemble is completed by a light, fur-collared cape with dark edges, almost reaching down to the man's feet, with two smaller, identical clothes hanging from the shoulders. Requin carries around his weapon of choice, an anchor, on his back, the shaft protruding from behind his right shoulder.[2][5]
Personality[]
Requin retains a serious, neutral demeanor at most times, even when ordering his subordinates around[1][6][7] or when engaged in battle: during the latter instance, the virtual invulnerability granted him by Acid Rule (an "absolute" power which he considers his own)[8] leaves him largely unfazed from his opponents' actions.[9] He is ruthless, showing no qualms at the prospect of exterminating enemies to the last one to accomplish tasks,[10] and willing to employ drastic means to carry out his missions (such as destroying several of Blue Guardians' own airships to prevent the Rave Warriors from escaping the Albatross), but appears to be fair enough to compliment his foes' skills, doing so with both Julius[11] and Julia.[12][13][14] In stark contrast to this, he has shown he can be somewhat rash with words when faced with his superiors: upon reporting the results of a mission, he addressed First Mate Renard bluntly (something which offended one of her subordinates, although it had no effect on Renard herself), and went as far as mockingly referencing Captain Hardner's past during the conversation with her.[15]
Synopsis[]
Blue Guardians arc[]
Requin leads the Six Guards in the assault on the Liberation Army's headquarters. At the gates, the group runs into the Rave Master, Haru Glory, accompanied by some of his comrades and by Yuma Ansect; all of them are pushed back inside the hideout by the combined efforts of Leopard and Liévre, under Requin's orders. The group's leader then proceeds to explain the strategy for the incoming attack, ordering Koala to track down and capture Elie, and Chien Viverin to stand guard at the entrance.[16] Later on, after Koala's retrieval of the Staff of Dimensions, the Blue Guardians retreat, having accomplished their task; Requin himself reassures his subordinates that Elie is not necessary for the Staff's powers to be exploited, seeing as there is someone else capable of using Etherion. He then entrusts Koala with the remote destruction of the Liberation Army's hideout.[17]
Requin reports on his mission to Renard through visual broadcasting, calling it a success for the retrieval of the Staff, despite the inability to prevent the Rave Warriors from escaping on the Liberale Familia. When the First Mate urges him to destroy such airship on Hardner's command, Requin teases her about the Captain still grasping to his past, and tells Renard to handle the matter herself before quitting the broadcast.[18]
The Six Guards make their way to the Albatross, where they turn the Staff of Dimensions in to Hardner, and are suprised to see him put Belnika's life at risk to prove her powers.[19] Later on, under Hardner's orders, Requin, Girafe and Renard are to capture Elie and bring her before the Captain in five minutes, with the Six Guards' leader noting they are free to kill the other intruders in the process.[10] Rather then tracking them down, Requin anticipates the Rave Warriors' movements, making his way to the Albatross' hangar and melting all airships located there beyond use, in order to cut off the group's escape routes; when the Rave Warriors arrive, he sneak-attacks them, locking blades with Julius. He is then momentarily frozen in place by the Oración Seis' Dark Bring and attacked by Lazenby, who has his gauntlet melted by Requin's acid in the attack. The Rave Warriors then escape outside, and he goes after them by climbing on the wall.[20] He doesn't manage to prevent them from escaping; instead, he readies to fight Julia, who stayed behind to delay him.[21]
Requin, claiming he won't go easy on Julia just because she's a woman, lunges at her with a mighty swing of his anchor; the Dragon Race's counter-attack sends the two of them flying back inside the structure. Julia's attempts to attack the Blue Guardians member prove to be futile, even when she employs her fire breath; Requin, on the other hand, lands some blows on her. The woman jumps on a nearby truck and drives it right against him, but his Dark Bring instantly turns the vehicle into a shapeless, harmless liquid mass. Realizing she can't strike Requin, Julia tries performing a grab on him, but he easily escapes it by turning into acid, much to the woman's shock. Approaching his now shivering opponent, Requin grabs Julia's face, intending to melt it.[22]
The Six Guards' leader lifts the struggling woman from the ground, holding her suspended while at the same time burning her face;[23] this until the Dragon Race is seemingly dead. It's at this point that Requin approaches the wrecked hangar's edge, throwing what he believes to be a dead body off board. Julia, however, regains consciousness, reflexively grabbing onto her opponent's pants and dragging him down with her. While the two of them plummet down towards the ground, the Dragon Race once again tries to perform a grab on Requin, intending to defeat him in midair, before he has a chance to reach the ground unscathed due to his Dark Bring. He laughs at her, reminding her of his acid form as he takes it on, once again escaping the grab. This, however, proves to be his undoing, as the low air pressure scatters his liquid body around. He tries to undo the transformation, but finds he has lost his grip on Acid Rule in the process, with Julia kicking it further away from him. Incapable of returning to his human form, Requin's shattered mass dissolves in the air.[24]
Powers and Abilities[]
Requin leads the Six Guards, a group of individuals who is allegedly powerful as Demon Card's Oración Seis, if not stronger;[25] he was directly referred to as "the one who keeps the Six Guards together",[26] hinting at his influence and power. In addition, he has command over a large number of inferior subordinates, as well as several airships.[27] His Dark Bring and natural skills make him a fearsome opponent: Julius, a member of Oración Seis, admitted it would be impossible for him to defeat Requin,[28] and the Six Guards' leader was able to dominate Julia, a strong member of the Dragon Race, in a fight; ultimately losing only out of carelessness.
Dark Bring[]
Granting him a power which he described as "absolute", Acid Rule allows Requin to melt anything directly in contact with his body, exactly as if he was coated in highly corrosive acid. This makes him practically immune from physical attacks, with any armed or unarmed move performed against him instead proving damaging to the offenders; Nagisa went on to speculate that even bullets would prove ineffective against him. When applied to inanimate objects, the melting is instantenous no matter the substance, with Requin claiming diamond and metal alike could be instantly destroyed; indeed, the Six Guard's leader was able to turn a large truck driven against him into a shapeless mass of liquid in a moment, remaining unscathed in the process. Living beings, on the other hand, are burnt by Acid Rule at varying speed, with Requin noting that, by retaining close physical contact with him, Julia would have been melted in less than a minute. The power bestowed by this Dark Bring, unlike the one from All Crush, isn't passive, seeing as Requin can wield his anchor, an item not directly resistant to his acidic properties, in battle.[29] He can even employ Acid Rule to climb on vertical surfaces, progressively melting himself climbing holds.[30]
In addition, this is one of the few Dark Brings capable of transforming the user's body into the manipulated element (the only other known instances being Smoke Bay and Shadow Doll, both under the possession of Demon Card members, as well as Renard's Light Flash). By turning into acid, Requin can achieve virtual invulnerability, as well as freely control his physical mass, burning everyone coming in contact with him in the process.[31] Doing so in environments with low air pressure, however, can scatter such form around, depriving him of his control over it;[32] it was this trait that proved to be Requin's undoing during his and Julia's fall towards the Demon World's surface.
Expert Tactician: Requin has shown to possess good leadership and tactical skills. Commanding the Six Guards, he is aware of their individual powers, and knows how to better combine them to dispatch enemies; it was under his orders the Leopard and Liévre rapidly repelled the Rave Warriors' top members. He also came up with an effective strategy to siege the Liberation Army's headquarters (although Yuma Ansect showed similar if not greater skill in figuring out his plan),[33] and proved himself analytical enough to anticipate the Rave Warriors' movements inside the Albatross, acting accordingly and cutting off their man escape route.[34]
Expert Melee Combatant: Due to the nature of his Dark Bring, Requin's fighting style is a close quarters one; in fact, the Six Guards' leader has shown to focus his offense on sheer physical combat, relying on Acid Rule for defense while he delivers mighty attacks with his anchor. His melee prowess extends to unarmed confrontations, letting him rapidly defend himself when Julia used his own weapon against him, as well as directly strike her with a knee. When Requin does directly employ his Dark Bring in conjunction with unarmed strikes, they gain the power to melt through any struck surface.[35]
Enhanced Strength: Requin is considerably strong, capable of swinging his anchor with enough strength to cause violent bursts of air,[36] as well as to send Julia flying a long distance away, causing her to crash through a wall. He achieved a similar feat by kneeing the Dragon Race,[37] and was later shown lifting her in the air with a single arm, holding his grip while burning her with Acid Rule despite Julia's struggles and kicks.[38]
Enhanced Durability: While his Dark Bring makes him impervious to most physical attacks, Requin has displayed a good amount of sheer durability and resilience: he landed harmlessly and in a correct stance from a fall of several meters which had him crush through the roof, and emerged completely unscathed from Julia's fire breath without the seeming use of Acid Rule; he even went on to claim that "flames and such" are useless against him.[39]
Weapons[]
Anchor: Requin's signature weapon, mirroring the symbols he sports, is a slender metal anchor, with curved, blade-like arms and a large loop at the end of its long shaft, which is partly wrapped in bandages for better handling. The Six Guards' leader can employ both the central part[40] and the arms of its arched end for striking,[41] making this a versatile tool. It was destroyed during his confrontation with Julia when the woman, having snatched it from him, tried to use the anchor against Requin, resulting in it melting.[42]
Battles & Events[]
- Siege of the Liberation Army's base
- Julius & Lazenby vs. Requin
- Julia vs. Requin
Trivia[]
- Requin's name, much like the rest of the Six Guards, is French and comes from an animal; "Requin", in particular, means "Shark". The animal aspects are directly mirrored by the character's gill-like markings, sharp teeth, shoulder tattoos and hooded cloak; on the other hand, the anchor symbols and his weapon of choice (and, possibly, his ability to take on a liquid form) reference the sea in general.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rave Master Manga: Chapter 195, Page 3
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rave Master Manga: Chapter 194, Pages 18-19
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 221, Pages 9-10
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 222, Page 10
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 221, Pages 8-9
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 195, Page 10
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 195, Page 13
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 223, Pages 17-18
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 221, Pages 10-11
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Rave Master Manga: Chapter 218, Page 17
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 221, Pages 6-8
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 222, Page 12
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 222, Page 20
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 223, Page 3
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 204, Pages 15-16
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 195, Pages 1-13
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 203, Pages 9-10
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 204, Pages 15-16
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 206, Pages 4-11
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 221, Pages 6-12
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 221, Pages 17-18
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 222, Pages 6-20
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 223, Pages 2-4
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 223, Pages 8-19
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 195, Page 2
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 221, Page 9
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 203, Page 9
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 221, Page 11
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 222, Pages 8-18
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 221, Page 12
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 222, Pages 19-20
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 223, Pages 16-17
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 195, Pages 3-13
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 221, Pages 6-8
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 223, Pages 6-12
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 222, Page 7
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 222, Pages 11-12
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 223, Pages 2-3
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 222, Pages 7-10
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 221, Page 8
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 222, Pages 6-7
- ↑ Rave Master Manga: Chapter 222, Page 11
[]
Captain | Captain Hardner |
First Mates | Renard |
Doctors | Jellybone |
Six Guards | Requin • Girafe • Leopard • Lievre • Koala • Chien Viverin |
Deceased | Requin • Koala |
Members | Belnika (left) |