Minamoto no Raikou
Info
Bio-Data
- Class: Berserker
- True Name: Minamoto no Raikou
- Sex: Female
- Sources: Historical Fact, “Otogizoushi (Fairy-Tale Books)”, “Taiheiki (The Chronicle of Great Peace)”, “Azuma Kagami (The Mirror of the East)”, “The True Form of Ushi-Gozen”, etc.
- Region: Japan
- Alignment: Chaotic Good
- Height: 175cm
- Weight: ??kg
Meta
- Character Creators: Sakurai Hikaru and Nasu Kinoko
- Character Designer: Honjou Raita
- Character Voice: Tomatsu Haruka
- Major Appearances in Main Works: Fate/Grand Order
Stats
| Parameters | Values |
|---|---|
| Strength | C* |
| Constitution | B |
| Agility | D |
| Magical Power | A |
| Luck | C |
| Noble Phantasm | A+ |
*The Strength Parameter is A-rank in the game profile
Class Skills
Magical Resistance: [D]
Nullifies Magecraft spells that were done in one step (a Single Action). A Magical Resistance of the same degree as an amulet that rejects Magical Energy.
If Raikou was in her original Class, she would possess B-rank Magical Resistance, but as a result of her attribute being changed, it has been ranked down.
Madness Enhancement: [EX]
A Skill that strengthens one’s physical abilities in exchange for their sense of reason.
In Raikou’s case, her reason is not lost, and her state of being remains as her original intellectual self. However, with the impurity of her oni blood, that mentality became morally broken because of the manifestation of her maternal love that is so far as abnormal. (She would eliminate anyone and everyone for the sake of her beloved ones, and she would protect them fanatically.) While talking of proper love, she does not hold a sight of social morals if it is for the sake of love, approving all kinds of deeds… that is to say, she is mentally ill. She draws a line from other Berserkers by not letting others be on the verge of truly perceiving that broken side of hers. Fundamentally, persuading her, or making her correct her ways, is impossible.
Riding: [A+]
One can freely handle all beasts and vehicles except Dragon Kins.
Raikou being able to ride is because of the Deity Gozu Tennou.
Divinity: [C]
Raikou was born as the heaven-sent child of Gozu Tennou, so she possesses the Divinity Skill.
Personal Skills
Eternal Martial Arts Mastery: [A+]
The dexterity of combat arts performed to the extremes. Prevents the degradation of fighting skills no matter the kind of circumstances, even if Raikou loses her armaments, etc.
Magical Burst (Lightning): [A]
Because Gozu Tennou is the incarnation of Taishakuten (the god Indra), Minamoto no Raikou possesses the power of the Kitano Tenjin (Raijin). As a Servant, it is expressed as a Magical Burst Skill.
Mystery Slayer: [A]
How Raikou was declared the strongest Mystery Slayer of the Heian Period becoming a Skill. It works with particular effectiveness as Anti-Mystery.
Noble Phantasm(s)
Go-Ou Shourai – Tenmoukaikai (The Ox King’s Storm Call – Heaven’s Vengeance is Slow yet Sure)
- Rank: B++
- Classification: Anti-Army Noble Phantasm
- Range: 1~100
- Maximum Number of Targets: 200 people
Gozu Tennou, who is the source of Raikou’s demonic nature/strange form, has his divine messenger, the ox (or possibly the Ushi-Oni), temporarily summoned by Raikou, and Raikou eradicates the enemy camp together with this being. The armaments that materialize by means of thunder are the weapons that symbolize the souls of her subordinates – the Four Heavenly Kings. By taking in the sublimation of Raikou’s episode where she exterminated the powerful Ushi-Oni, the destructive power of the divine messenger also rises above its original might.
Character
Pronouns
First Person Pronouns: watashi / haha (mother) (towards Kintoki)
Second Person Pronouns: anata / anata [only to females] / Kintoki (towards Kintoki) / mushi (insect) (towards those who tries to woo Kintoki or her Master)
Third Person Pronouns: ano kata / minasan
Personality
An elegant, virtuous and glamorous woman in the prime of her youth. While a cool-headed military woman, Raikou is also a beautiful woman overflowing with tolerance. Surely the personification of maternal love.
Raikou is a diligent career soldier, but she becomes a doting crybaby prone to worrying when concerning matters related to Kintoki. As a matter of fact, she is passive and introverted. Although she is seen as a person with a good sense to make peace pleasant for everyone, because her true nature (a nature mixed with a divinity) is inhuman, she grasps everything in an overlooking manner, as well as in a big-picture perspective. On the other hand, her affection towards those she came to like is strong, becoming the embodiment of maternal love that “makes the world her enemy if it is for the sake of her child.” For her, a “lover” is equal to “her own child”. Raikou herself does not really notice how out of sync that way of perceiving things is.
During moments where she looks after Kintoki, Raikou would not say that she had said before “Kintoki. I will discipline you not as your older sister, but as your mother”, among other things. Thereafter, her first person pronoun towards Kintoki became “mother”.
Since her birth, Raikou has continually suffered for she had thought of herself as something “close to a demon”, even if she has the blood of a god. Below her devotions, such as responding to the expectations of her father and defending the Imperial Capital, she is constantly bearing a viewpoint that “I am not a human being.” She cannot live as a human being, and yet, she also cannot live as a demonic being.
For that sort of Raikou, the encounter with Sakata Kintoki, who had been backing her up as one of her guardians, and who possesses a similar mixed-race origin much like herself – albeit weaker than her owns – grew to be a little salvation for her. Raikou had swore “Although I cannot become familiar with you as an older sister, I will discipline you as a mother”, and that was also for the sake of not letting Kintoki be exposed to the experience of the same solitude she had suffered. To her father, she was thrown away as unnecessary, and for Raikou, she did not experience maternal love, but the days of disciplining Kintoki as a substitute parent were her only “human days”.
Such days were also the bygone days, and one day, Kintoki became an adult. A new demon appeared in the Imperial Capital. That was Shuten-douji. Boasting “freedom as a demonic being” and doing as she likes, Shuten-douji enjoyed herself in the world of humans, and that very state was “what she wanted to be.” Disdain. Envy. Jealousy. Yearning. For Raikou, Shuten-douji was a “close stranger” who mixed up her feelings just like that. As for Raikou herself, she did not assail Shuten-douji aggressively compared to the other criminals. Because up to a time, she ascertained that Shuten-douji was an acquaintance of Kintoki from his childhood days.
Attitude Towards Master
As far as Raikou is concerned, the Master who became her contractor is an earnest salvation that had appeared in the darkness. Continuing from Kintoki, she sees her Master as a person who she was fated to meet – someone who accepted and contracted with her as a demonic being. Speaking of that doting, it is as fierce as it can be. However, given that she has a strong desire to monopolize them, she will press a question with a sick look as if she had suffered from one being unfaithful to her, and she will cry immediately if she sees her Master averting their gaze. Speaking of her maternal love, it gives off an impression of thoughtfulness, but her maternal love goes way too far, becoming “a conversion of the child into her own possession and snatching away all of their freedom and future.” Although Raikou’s affections are at the stage of insanity, Raikou’s own high intelligence and strong sense of reason does not make this aspect be noticed as such (even to the people in the vicinity, as well as to Raikou herself).
Dialogue Examples
“I am called Minamoto no Raikou. While I am not yet competent in this state to act in the position of general, I request that you treat me well please.”
“Oh dear. Since you are a naughty child, you have become so bloody.”
“… You’re… an eyesore.” (During moments of having malice)
“If you say such a thing, I might cry…” (Crying soon)
“Aah… What fault did Mother seem to do…?”
Historical Character and Figure
A figure of the 10th~11th Century. Born as the eldest son of the Minamoto clan, Minamoto no Raikou is a figure who contributed to the development of the entire Seiwa Genji line as the founder of the Settsu Genji branch. He is also the strongest Mystery Slayer of the Heian Period who destroyed many monstrosities, such as “Shuten-douji of Mount Ooe”, “The Giant Spider of the Imperial Capital”, and “Ushi-Oni of Sensou-ji Temple”. Leading his subordinates – whom are known as Raikou’s Four Heavenly Kings————Watanabe no Tsuna, Sakata Kintoki, Urabe no Suetake and Usui Sadamitsu – he continued to protect the peace of the capital. Naturally, he is a male in historical fact.
Old Joururi: “The True Form of Ushi-Gozen” (Outline)
Minamoto no Mitsunaka’s child – who was born as the heaven-sent child of Gozu Tennou – was left in the care of a temple as an unwanted child and was raised in secret because of his abnormal birth (being the child of an oni). On the occasion of turning 15 years old, the unwanted child gave himself the name “Ushi-Gozen”, and he built up a demonic country for himself at Suzugamori, Shinagawa. The ones whom departed to exterminate him was Minamoto no Raikou – a samurai who has the same father as him – and the Four Heavenly Kings whom were commanded by Raikou.
Meanwhile, it was Sakata Kintoki who decided in his mind to save only Ushi-Gozen’s life during the extermination in any way possible. Away from the capital for a mission, Kintoki proceeded towards Ushi-Gozen’s base instead for a negotiation, but the negotiation broke down. Ushi-Gozen’s subordinates were then closed in and destroyed by Raikou as well as by the Four Heavenly Kings, whom were all accompanying Kintoki while hidden.
Already up to this point, Gozen entered into the Asakusa River (Sumida River), and he would grow into the shape of a huge ox with a bodily height of approximately ten shaku[1], before he would spout water at the enemy armies, drowning many people to death. Ushi-Gozen noticed that the figures of the Four Heavenly Kings were not in sight among the enemy ranks, so he broke into a gallop towards the enemy camp, took along seven brawny samurai and eight horsemen with him against their will, and left these words behind as he submerged to the bottom of Asakusa River: “In a short span of time, I will become thunder and head towards the capital.”
The episode regarding Raikou’s half-brother. Although he is precisely Raikou’s younger brother, there is a theory that he was thought to be a “woman” because of the name “Gozen”. (The Ushi-Oni is a monster that possesses the special characteristic of frequently “taking on the form of a woman”, and the Ushi-Oni also appears before Minamoto no Raikou in the “Taiheiki”, taking on the form of “his mother”.)
In addition, Ushi-Gozen is the avatar of Gozu Tennou, and Gozu Tennou is the incarnation of Taishakuten (Indra).
Character in FGO
In this work, Raikou appears as a woman. This person is the true figure of Minamoto no Raikou, and “Ushi-Gozen” is the younger sister of Minamoto no Raikou in the old Joururi “The True Form of Ushi-Gozen”————
The way of these things came from an interpretation. Minamoto no Mitsunaka’s daughter – who was born as the heaven-sent child of Gozu Tennou – was left in the care of a temple as a male and was raised in secret because of her abnormal birth (being an oni child). On the occasion of turning 15 years old, she was brought back to the capital to play an active role, being gifted the name Minamoto no Raikou. Her name was established as a military commander who, on the surface, drove away many Mysteries, taking on in the beginning Ushi-Oni (who is close to her in a sense). Consequently, the episodes of “the life and death struggle between Minamoto no Raikou and the demonic Ushi-Gozen”, “Sakata Kintoki protects Ushi-Gozen, who had fallen into a predicament of being driven into a corner”, etc., as depicted in “The True Form of Ushi-Gozen” were somehow actually speaking of the events…
… of the conflicts with herself. For the purpose of launching herself to the center stage of history as a central figure of the Minamoto clan, Minamoto no Raikou was attempting to detach “Ushi-Gozen”, who is by definition the aspect of her demonic nature/strange form. Speaking of the modern era, the land that corresponds to Tokyo was where Raikou contended against her tempestuous self by means of a deep meditation. Raikou faced with “Ushi-Gozen”… the demon inside her, and Ushi-Gozen finally separated from Raikou, manifesting as an avatar of Gozu Tennou. The sky became a storm, the thunder roared chaotically, and the earth broke apart. Together with the Four Heavenly Kings, Raikou was to “kill herself” in order to defeat this being.
Given the situation, it became obvious what the reason was for Sakata Kintoki to start protecting Ushi-Gozen in the middle of this battle. Kintoki pondered about Raikou, his substitute parent when he was being brought up, and he understands that killing Ushi-Gozen will also kill Raikou as the two are linked. In order to save Raikou, Kintoki needs to “kill” Ushi-Gozen “while keeping her alive”————In other words, preaching the power of the love between parent and child, he saw the conclusion as Ushi-Gozen was sealed (returned back) inside of Raikou.
Related Characters
Sakata Kintoki
“Kintoki, ahh Kintoki… Hehe, you still have a grain of rice on your cheek. Forever a child.”
Shuten-douji
“You’re being… an insect————”
Ibaraki-douji
“An insect.”
The Hassan of the Serenity
“Why have I not acknowledged insects? Then should I consider you as just the right proxy insect repellent?”
Ushi-Gozen
“… Excuse me, what kind of tale does this seem to be?”
Tamamo-no-Mae / Abe no Seimei / Ashiya Douman
(No comment)
Comment from the Illustrator
For Ms. Raikou, I stuffed in plenty of components into her lovely self, such as making her figure similar to a model that turned non-Japanese in appearance, making her outfit look erotic despite showing little skin exposure, making her show a maternal love that doesn’t want any reward as well as making her show her jealousy in small amounts, and so forth. Although she has swung towards the maternal love aspect quite considerably since implementation, if you really have something for huge breasts, you’ll also love the motion of her breasts shaking in every single way. She’s currently the ace of my Chaldea. But it’s amusing that her Noble Phantasm is so dignified. (Honjou Raita)
TL Notes
[1] – 10 shaku is approximately 303cm.
Material Images
(Lib will add after publish)
Dialogue
| Occassion | English | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| Summoned |