TV-Series
Description
Kannabi-no-Mikoto, often referred to simply as Kanna, is a central figure from the past arc of the story, positioned as the last surviving member of a mythical winged race in 10th century Japan. Her narrative takes place during the late Heian period, approximately one thousand years before the main storyline. The name Kannabi-no-Mikoto carries significant weight; Kannabi translates to Princess Kanna, while no-Mikoto is a revered honorific typically applied to divine or heavenly beings. This title reflects her status as a being worshipped and feared by humans.
Kanna is portrayed as a young girl of about sixteen or seventeen years of age. Her appearance is striking and ethereal, characterized by extremely long purple or blue hair tied in the front with red ribbons that feature small bells at the ends. She possesses blue eyes and fair skin. Her most defining physical trait is a pair of large, pure white wings, which she usually keeps hidden beneath her clothing in an effort to appear as an ordinary girl and to avoid the attention and fear her wings inspire in others. Her typical attire is a large, thick pink kimono, which she exchanges for a lighter tan or green kimono during her journey away from the shrine.
Having spent the majority of her life confined within various shrines, Kanna is deeply isolated from the world. This isolation has resulted in a notable lack of common sense and an innocent, somewhat childish demeanor that belies her physical age. Despite possessing a certain measure of pride fitting for one who is called a princess, she is not arrogant. Her personality is fundamentally kind and gentle; she displays a merciful heart, even forbidding her protector, Ryuya, from killing the soldiers who pursue them. At the same time, she has a spunky and lively side, showing traits of a slightly spoiled and competitive young girl. Her interactions are often marked by a stubborn yet endearing lack of skill, such as her repeated failed attempts to learn juggling, which becomes a gentle source of humor. She refers to herself using a grandiose, ancient masculine pronoun, adding to her charmingly anachronistic personality.
Her primary motivation is a deep, yearning desire to see her mother. Kanna holds onto the conviction that her mother is still alive, imprisoned somewhere in the mountains. This hope drives her to escape the shrine where she is held, despite the dangers of the outside world and the curse that surrounds her bloodline. Her sense of family and human connection is fragile, and she seeks her mother not only for love but also for a sense of identity and origin. The fear of her wing's power and the sadness carried in the memories of her race are burdens she wishes to understand by finding the only other being who shares her fate.
Kanna's role in the greater narrative is foundational. Her story serves as the tragic origin of the main events, or Summer arc. Her actions and the curses placed upon her and her mother directly create the suffering that her reincarnation, Misuzu Kamio, endures one thousand years later. She is not merely a historical figure but the source of the dream that haunts Misuzu and the quest that drives the protagonists. Her journey with her companions, Ryuya, a warrior assigned as her guard, and Uraha, her cheerful and skilled attendant, forms the emotional core of the past. Through this journey, she experiences friendship, freedom, and a fleeting taste of a normal life for the first time.
The development of Kanna is a tragic arc from imprisonment to a brief freedom and ultimately to a selfless sacrifice. Initially passive and confined, she actively chooses to escape and seek her mother. As she travels with Ryuya and Uraha, her personality blossoms. She moves from treating Ryuya merely as a guard to developing a deep emotional bond with him, culminating in a farewell kiss before her sacrifice. She experiences joy, such as learning to juggle, and profound sorrow upon finally meeting her mother again, only to witness her death. The pivotal moment of her development occurs when she is surrounded by enemies. For the first time in her life, she fully spreads her wings, not as a symbol of her curse or imprisonment, but as a shield to protect the two people who showed her kindness. She flies into the sky, knowing it will mean her own death, to save them from the warriors below.
The key relationships in her life are with Ryuya and Uraha. Ryuya is initially a reluctant protector, but their bond deepens into a romantic one, with Kanna finding safety and strength in his presence. Uraha serves as a nurturing older sister figure, teaching Kanna about the world, teaching her games, and providing warmth and magic to their grim journey. Her relationship with her mother, though brief, is the catalyst for her final act. By touching her dying mother, Kanna unknowingly inherits a powerful curse, passing on all the sorrow and pain accumulated in the winged memories, which condemns her and her future descendants to a lonely fate.
As a member of the winged race, Kanna possesses several notable abilities. Her most visible power is the ability to fly with her large white wings, although she kept them hidden for most of her life and rarely used them. The winged race's primary ability is to carry the dreams and memories of the Earth itself. This immense collection of knowledge, inherited through physical contact, contains both the joy and the profound sorrow of history. This inheritance acts as a curse, leading to illness and loneliness for those who bear it. Furthermore, Kanna is said to wield vast divine powers, including the ability to manipulate the wind, which could be used for both offensive and defensive purposes. When she finally ascends to the sky, her power is on full display, though she is ultimately overcome by the curse of the pursuing monks, who seal her soul in the sky to suffer an eternal, lonely dream. This curse and the power of her bloodline extend far beyond her death, shaping the destiny of the characters in the modern era.
Kanna is portrayed as a young girl of about sixteen or seventeen years of age. Her appearance is striking and ethereal, characterized by extremely long purple or blue hair tied in the front with red ribbons that feature small bells at the ends. She possesses blue eyes and fair skin. Her most defining physical trait is a pair of large, pure white wings, which she usually keeps hidden beneath her clothing in an effort to appear as an ordinary girl and to avoid the attention and fear her wings inspire in others. Her typical attire is a large, thick pink kimono, which she exchanges for a lighter tan or green kimono during her journey away from the shrine.
Having spent the majority of her life confined within various shrines, Kanna is deeply isolated from the world. This isolation has resulted in a notable lack of common sense and an innocent, somewhat childish demeanor that belies her physical age. Despite possessing a certain measure of pride fitting for one who is called a princess, she is not arrogant. Her personality is fundamentally kind and gentle; she displays a merciful heart, even forbidding her protector, Ryuya, from killing the soldiers who pursue them. At the same time, she has a spunky and lively side, showing traits of a slightly spoiled and competitive young girl. Her interactions are often marked by a stubborn yet endearing lack of skill, such as her repeated failed attempts to learn juggling, which becomes a gentle source of humor. She refers to herself using a grandiose, ancient masculine pronoun, adding to her charmingly anachronistic personality.
Her primary motivation is a deep, yearning desire to see her mother. Kanna holds onto the conviction that her mother is still alive, imprisoned somewhere in the mountains. This hope drives her to escape the shrine where she is held, despite the dangers of the outside world and the curse that surrounds her bloodline. Her sense of family and human connection is fragile, and she seeks her mother not only for love but also for a sense of identity and origin. The fear of her wing's power and the sadness carried in the memories of her race are burdens she wishes to understand by finding the only other being who shares her fate.
Kanna's role in the greater narrative is foundational. Her story serves as the tragic origin of the main events, or Summer arc. Her actions and the curses placed upon her and her mother directly create the suffering that her reincarnation, Misuzu Kamio, endures one thousand years later. She is not merely a historical figure but the source of the dream that haunts Misuzu and the quest that drives the protagonists. Her journey with her companions, Ryuya, a warrior assigned as her guard, and Uraha, her cheerful and skilled attendant, forms the emotional core of the past. Through this journey, she experiences friendship, freedom, and a fleeting taste of a normal life for the first time.
The development of Kanna is a tragic arc from imprisonment to a brief freedom and ultimately to a selfless sacrifice. Initially passive and confined, she actively chooses to escape and seek her mother. As she travels with Ryuya and Uraha, her personality blossoms. She moves from treating Ryuya merely as a guard to developing a deep emotional bond with him, culminating in a farewell kiss before her sacrifice. She experiences joy, such as learning to juggle, and profound sorrow upon finally meeting her mother again, only to witness her death. The pivotal moment of her development occurs when she is surrounded by enemies. For the first time in her life, she fully spreads her wings, not as a symbol of her curse or imprisonment, but as a shield to protect the two people who showed her kindness. She flies into the sky, knowing it will mean her own death, to save them from the warriors below.
The key relationships in her life are with Ryuya and Uraha. Ryuya is initially a reluctant protector, but their bond deepens into a romantic one, with Kanna finding safety and strength in his presence. Uraha serves as a nurturing older sister figure, teaching Kanna about the world, teaching her games, and providing warmth and magic to their grim journey. Her relationship with her mother, though brief, is the catalyst for her final act. By touching her dying mother, Kanna unknowingly inherits a powerful curse, passing on all the sorrow and pain accumulated in the winged memories, which condemns her and her future descendants to a lonely fate.
As a member of the winged race, Kanna possesses several notable abilities. Her most visible power is the ability to fly with her large white wings, although she kept them hidden for most of her life and rarely used them. The winged race's primary ability is to carry the dreams and memories of the Earth itself. This immense collection of knowledge, inherited through physical contact, contains both the joy and the profound sorrow of history. This inheritance acts as a curse, leading to illness and loneliness for those who bear it. Furthermore, Kanna is said to wield vast divine powers, including the ability to manipulate the wind, which could be used for both offensive and defensive purposes. When she finally ascends to the sky, her power is on full display, though she is ultimately overcome by the curse of the pursuing monks, who seal her soul in the sky to suffer an eternal, lonely dream. This curse and the power of her bloodline extend far beyond her death, shaping the destiny of the characters in the modern era.