TV-Series
Description
Gui Fa is a member of Lord Tensen, the group of immortal beings who rule the mysterious island of Kotaku. As one of the Tensen, Gui Fa holds the status of a partial ruler of the island and serves as a supporting antagonist in the story. Existing for over a thousand years, Gui Fa was created from the Tao of a puppet by Rien, who was conducting research into the secrets of eternal life. Along with five other Tensen, Gui Fa was trained by Rien from a state resembling childhood, eventually being assigned to master one of the five forms of immortality training, specifically the realm known as Shuitsu.
In terms of appearance, Gui Fa is distinguished by short, ochre or apricot-yellow colored hair and blue eyes that are set against dark sclera, giving their gaze a unique and somewhat unsettling quality. Unlike most other Tensen, who can switch between distinct male and female forms, Gui Fa eschews this binary in favor of a body that blends both sexes, occupying a sexually ambiguous and central position. By far Gui Fa's most consistent visual trait is the behavior of hiding their face behind an old book, which they keep raised as a barrier against the outside world.
The personality of Gui Fa is defined by a profound and almost debilitating shyness. Preferring to keep their face concealed at nearly all times, Gui Fa becomes visibly uncomfortable with direct eye contact and will shift position to avoid it. This trait is noted to have worsened over the centuries, with only moments of great seriousness or necessity prompting Gui Fa to set the book aside and reveal their expressionless features. Despite this withdrawn demeanor, Gui Fa maintains a calm and composed deadpan attitude. As a Tensen, they view the world through a lens that separates them from mortal concerns, lacking the capacity to understand the emotional attachments of other living things. Gui Fa regards humans with cold practicality, seeing them not as individuals worthy of sympathy but as valuable material, or ingredients, to be harvested for the creation of Tan, the elixir that sustains their immortality. Consequently, Gui Fa finds attempts at negotiation or mutual understanding with humans to be utterly meaningless, believing that the only possible interaction between their species is mutual destruction.
Within the hierarchy of Lord Tensen, Gui Fa serves as a loyal subordinate to Rien, following orders with exacting precision. They hold a neutral position among their peers, notably finding the Bochu Jutsu training methods practiced by other Tensen to be ridiculous and believing their own centralized method to be superior. Relationships with fellow Tensen are functional rather than warm, as Gui Fa adheres to the belief that beings like themselves are meant solely to follow the way of Tao, prioritizing duty over bonds or emotions, which they consider low priorities. This detached perspective even extends to the apparent deaths of their comrades, as Gui Fa views their defeat not as a cause for vengeance but simply as a part of their endless training, knowing that they can potentially be revived.
Gui Fa's role in the story is that of a guardian and an executor of Rien's grand design. During the conflict with the human vanguard party, Gui Fa is tasked with guarding the ritual circle and protecting the Basin, a crucial object in Rien's plans. When confronted by the samurai Sagiri and the small Tensen Mei, Gui Fa demonstrates their power by using Tao to force Sagiri to her knees. However, rather than immediately attacking, Gui Fa complies with Sagiri's request for a truce, choosing to explain Rien's ultimate plan to use Paradise Butterflies to transform all of Japan's citizens into flowers to create a giant Banko for producing perfected Tan. Showing a lack of hostility unless provoked, Gui Fa leaves the fight to report the failure of the other Tensen back to Rien.
A significant development in Gui Fa occurs upon discovering the truth of their own existence. Investigating Rien's laboratory while protecting the Basin, Gui Fa uncovers secret research aimed at reviving a soul and realizes that Lord Tensen's true master has always been Rien herself, who is merely using a Tao puppet. This revelation, combined with being left behind, sparks a change in their character. Despite previously claiming to harbor no emotional attachments, Gui Fa admits to Mei that they are glad she survived and makes the decision to watch over the cultivated remains of the other fallen Tensen, hoping for their swift resurrection. Gui Fa also begins to show sympathy toward humans for the first time, warning Yuzuriha about the predetermined fates of the survivors as revealed by an I Ching ritual and later helping the human Toma to revive his brother using the Basin. Ultimately, Gui Fa admits to a deep-seated desire to understand the meaning of life, feeling a sense of envy upon hearing Mei explain what she has learned about living. This arc culminates in Gui Fa deciding to leave the island of Kotaku behind to start a new life in human society, seeking to adapt and learn what it truly means to live.
Gui Fa possesses several notable abilities stemming from their mastery of Tao, the fundamental energy of life. Their Tao is specifically attributed to the Metal element, which they have refined over a millennium of training to a level that others perceive as god-like. Gui Fa can utilize this power to sense the presence, movements, and weak spots of opponents, as well as to enhance their own physical attacks. Offensively, Gui Fa can release their Tao to target enemies, forcing them to their knees under immense pressure that diminishes their ability to move, as if gravity itself were crushing them. They have also demonstrated the skill to create convincing illusions using their Tao. As a consumer of Tan, Gui Fa possesses a high degree of regenerative ability and a form of immortality. The only known method to nullify this regeneration and kill Gui Fa is to completely destroy their tanden, the core of their Tao power within the body, using an opponent who wields the Fire element. Additionally, as a Tensen, Gui Fa has the inherent ability to switch between Yin and Yang chi, which would alter their sex and augment their Tao recovery, though they personally prefer to maintain a body that showcases both sexes simultaneously rather than switching between extremes.
In terms of appearance, Gui Fa is distinguished by short, ochre or apricot-yellow colored hair and blue eyes that are set against dark sclera, giving their gaze a unique and somewhat unsettling quality. Unlike most other Tensen, who can switch between distinct male and female forms, Gui Fa eschews this binary in favor of a body that blends both sexes, occupying a sexually ambiguous and central position. By far Gui Fa's most consistent visual trait is the behavior of hiding their face behind an old book, which they keep raised as a barrier against the outside world.
The personality of Gui Fa is defined by a profound and almost debilitating shyness. Preferring to keep their face concealed at nearly all times, Gui Fa becomes visibly uncomfortable with direct eye contact and will shift position to avoid it. This trait is noted to have worsened over the centuries, with only moments of great seriousness or necessity prompting Gui Fa to set the book aside and reveal their expressionless features. Despite this withdrawn demeanor, Gui Fa maintains a calm and composed deadpan attitude. As a Tensen, they view the world through a lens that separates them from mortal concerns, lacking the capacity to understand the emotional attachments of other living things. Gui Fa regards humans with cold practicality, seeing them not as individuals worthy of sympathy but as valuable material, or ingredients, to be harvested for the creation of Tan, the elixir that sustains their immortality. Consequently, Gui Fa finds attempts at negotiation or mutual understanding with humans to be utterly meaningless, believing that the only possible interaction between their species is mutual destruction.
Within the hierarchy of Lord Tensen, Gui Fa serves as a loyal subordinate to Rien, following orders with exacting precision. They hold a neutral position among their peers, notably finding the Bochu Jutsu training methods practiced by other Tensen to be ridiculous and believing their own centralized method to be superior. Relationships with fellow Tensen are functional rather than warm, as Gui Fa adheres to the belief that beings like themselves are meant solely to follow the way of Tao, prioritizing duty over bonds or emotions, which they consider low priorities. This detached perspective even extends to the apparent deaths of their comrades, as Gui Fa views their defeat not as a cause for vengeance but simply as a part of their endless training, knowing that they can potentially be revived.
Gui Fa's role in the story is that of a guardian and an executor of Rien's grand design. During the conflict with the human vanguard party, Gui Fa is tasked with guarding the ritual circle and protecting the Basin, a crucial object in Rien's plans. When confronted by the samurai Sagiri and the small Tensen Mei, Gui Fa demonstrates their power by using Tao to force Sagiri to her knees. However, rather than immediately attacking, Gui Fa complies with Sagiri's request for a truce, choosing to explain Rien's ultimate plan to use Paradise Butterflies to transform all of Japan's citizens into flowers to create a giant Banko for producing perfected Tan. Showing a lack of hostility unless provoked, Gui Fa leaves the fight to report the failure of the other Tensen back to Rien.
A significant development in Gui Fa occurs upon discovering the truth of their own existence. Investigating Rien's laboratory while protecting the Basin, Gui Fa uncovers secret research aimed at reviving a soul and realizes that Lord Tensen's true master has always been Rien herself, who is merely using a Tao puppet. This revelation, combined with being left behind, sparks a change in their character. Despite previously claiming to harbor no emotional attachments, Gui Fa admits to Mei that they are glad she survived and makes the decision to watch over the cultivated remains of the other fallen Tensen, hoping for their swift resurrection. Gui Fa also begins to show sympathy toward humans for the first time, warning Yuzuriha about the predetermined fates of the survivors as revealed by an I Ching ritual and later helping the human Toma to revive his brother using the Basin. Ultimately, Gui Fa admits to a deep-seated desire to understand the meaning of life, feeling a sense of envy upon hearing Mei explain what she has learned about living. This arc culminates in Gui Fa deciding to leave the island of Kotaku behind to start a new life in human society, seeking to adapt and learn what it truly means to live.
Gui Fa possesses several notable abilities stemming from their mastery of Tao, the fundamental energy of life. Their Tao is specifically attributed to the Metal element, which they have refined over a millennium of training to a level that others perceive as god-like. Gui Fa can utilize this power to sense the presence, movements, and weak spots of opponents, as well as to enhance their own physical attacks. Offensively, Gui Fa can release their Tao to target enemies, forcing them to their knees under immense pressure that diminishes their ability to move, as if gravity itself were crushing them. They have also demonstrated the skill to create convincing illusions using their Tao. As a consumer of Tan, Gui Fa possesses a high degree of regenerative ability and a form of immortality. The only known method to nullify this regeneration and kill Gui Fa is to completely destroy their tanden, the core of their Tao power within the body, using an opponent who wields the Fire element. Additionally, as a Tensen, Gui Fa has the inherent ability to switch between Yin and Yang chi, which would alter their sex and augment their Tao recovery, though they personally prefer to maintain a body that showcases both sexes simultaneously rather than switching between extremes.