TV-Series
Description
Melville, also known by her real name Mashiro Kuji, is a character from the Magical Girl Raising Project Restart arc. She is a member of Team Bell and initially appears as a calm and collected individual who tends to keep to herself. This aloof demeanor, however, serves as a cover for a much darker true nature. In reality, Melville is sadistic, manipulative, and holds very little regard for the lives of others. She is a secondary antagonist in the story, driven by an obsessive adoration for Cranberry, a powerful and ruthless magical girl from the past. Melville was Cranberry's former apprentice and seeks to carry on her mentor's brutal legacy. She is described as being exactly like Cranberry while still possessing her own distinct identity, and she has a complex about her mentor, having trained excessively in hopes of becoming as strong as her.
Motivated by her worship of Cranberry, Melville orchestrates a series of underhanded murders during the Restart game as a means to uphold Cranberry's philosophy that the weak have no place among magical girls. She believes that Cranberry is still alive and continues her work, never learning the truth of her mentor's death. Melville wields a unique magical ability that allows her to change the color of any surface she touches, whether living or non-living. This power is instantaneous and can be set to last for a specific duration, even persisting after her death. By using this magic to blend in with her surroundings, she can effectively turn invisible, making it a potent tool for ambushes and deception. Her magic is purely visual, however, and is ineffective against those who rely on other senses like hearing or smell to track her.
Throughout Restart, Melville plays a central role as the hidden threat manipulating events from within her own team. She initially murders Masked Wonder and Cherna Mouse, all while maintaining her innocent facade. Melville is shown to be extremely skilled at using her powers and memories to her advantage, such as when she bribes and emotionally coaxes Rionetta into becoming her accomplice. She maintains a few key relationships while hiding her true intentions. Lapis Lazuline is the only member of Team Bell who can understand Melville's strong, unusual accent and often translates for her. Despite being on the same team, she does not trust Detec Bell. She finds Cherna Mouse useful and is the only one who can get her to follow orders, though she ultimately disposes of her. Her relationship with her mentor Cranberry is the most significant, shaping her entire worldview and outfit, which is based on Cranberry's own design.
Despite her cold and calculating exterior, Melville has a significant flaw: she is actually very emotional. In the heat of a critical moment, she is unable to stay calm, which ultimately leads to her defeat. After a long and brutal conflict, she is killed by Clantail, who transforms into a Great Dragon and tears her apart. Even in death, her magic continues to affect the game world. Her development is a tragic one; a girl who survived as a nomadic hunter-gatherer in the mountains and was taken under Cranberry's wing, only to become a ruthless killer obsessed with proving herself worthy of her master's legacy. Her real name, Mashiro Kuji, is a reference to Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, as "Shiro" means white and "Kuji" evokes the word for whale, tying her to the novel's themes of obsession and the use of harpoons.
Motivated by her worship of Cranberry, Melville orchestrates a series of underhanded murders during the Restart game as a means to uphold Cranberry's philosophy that the weak have no place among magical girls. She believes that Cranberry is still alive and continues her work, never learning the truth of her mentor's death. Melville wields a unique magical ability that allows her to change the color of any surface she touches, whether living or non-living. This power is instantaneous and can be set to last for a specific duration, even persisting after her death. By using this magic to blend in with her surroundings, she can effectively turn invisible, making it a potent tool for ambushes and deception. Her magic is purely visual, however, and is ineffective against those who rely on other senses like hearing or smell to track her.
Throughout Restart, Melville plays a central role as the hidden threat manipulating events from within her own team. She initially murders Masked Wonder and Cherna Mouse, all while maintaining her innocent facade. Melville is shown to be extremely skilled at using her powers and memories to her advantage, such as when she bribes and emotionally coaxes Rionetta into becoming her accomplice. She maintains a few key relationships while hiding her true intentions. Lapis Lazuline is the only member of Team Bell who can understand Melville's strong, unusual accent and often translates for her. Despite being on the same team, she does not trust Detec Bell. She finds Cherna Mouse useful and is the only one who can get her to follow orders, though she ultimately disposes of her. Her relationship with her mentor Cranberry is the most significant, shaping her entire worldview and outfit, which is based on Cranberry's own design.
Despite her cold and calculating exterior, Melville has a significant flaw: she is actually very emotional. In the heat of a critical moment, she is unable to stay calm, which ultimately leads to her defeat. After a long and brutal conflict, she is killed by Clantail, who transforms into a Great Dragon and tears her apart. Even in death, her magic continues to affect the game world. Her development is a tragic one; a girl who survived as a nomadic hunter-gatherer in the mountains and was taken under Cranberry's wing, only to become a ruthless killer obsessed with proving herself worthy of her master's legacy. Her real name, Mashiro Kuji, is a reference to Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, as "Shiro" means white and "Kuji" evokes the word for whale, tying her to the novel's themes of obsession and the use of harpoons.