Yuki Amemiya

My Review of the Series:
In a kingdom threaten by war it is only natural to cultivate the best solders around. Barsburg Empire Military Academy produces the elite of elite by cultivating the rare and unique power of the "zaiphon"; which converts a "force" into different forms for combat depending on the students individual powers and personalities.

The story stems around a boy name Teito Klein, a slave raised to the position of military dog. We accompany him on his journey as he discovers his past life and the responsibilities it holds for him.

The story is incomplete so far but what I have read I have liked. Teito has a long road ahead of him as he searches out his past and discovers the secrets of the church of the 7 holy ghost. The storyline has a good feel and for the most part the graphics are drawn well. The only fault I find with it are the battle scenes it is hard to tell the characters apart since they are blurred and jumbled. All the characters have the tendency to have the same facial structure so if you do not catch individual differences early on, you will find yourself looking back to make sure they are who you think they are.
A good read but not a keeper.… (plus d'informations)

Teito Klein is a former slave sent to attend the Barsburg Empire's military academy due to his ability to use Zaiphon, a type of supernatural power. The ability is rare, and thus highly prized. Teito is an amnesiac and doesn't remember anything of his origins—what he does learn of his past comes from his recurring and often traumatizing dreams.Teito carries the Eye of Mikhail, the powerful artifact that his home country, the Raggs Kingdom, was ransacked for. The tragic death of a loved one catapults him into his quest for revenge against the Barsburg Empire and knowledge about his past, while he becomes entangled with the Gods, Verloren, and the 7 Ghosts.

Even though Verloren had been sealed away in Pandora's Box for over 1000 years, he is freed and once again begins to invade the hearts of men.

Zehel - 斬魂 "the cutting spirit" (Frau; the Ghost who severs bonds)

Feist - 繋魂 "the tying spirit" (Castor; the Ghost who ties soul to soul)

Profe - 言魂 "the speaking spirit" (Labrador; the Ghost who prophesies)

Randkalt - 消魂 "the extinguishing spirit"

Rilect - 遺魂 "the bequeathing spirit" (Lance; can see one's past)

Ea - 醒魂 "the awaking spirit"

Vertrag - 契魂 "the pledging spirit" (Fia Kreuz; the Ghost who seals memories)

The Three Dreams
When a person is given a life from the Chief of the Heavens, they are told that over the course of their lifetime, they will have three dreams to complete. When all of the dreams are granted, their souls will be called back to the Chief and be reincarnated. However, when people are born they don't remember the dreams they chose, and finding out the dreams is supposedly the joy of life.

There are evil beings that want to interfere with this process; among them are the Kor, who steal the dreams and drag humans into darkness. When a human comes under a Kor's power, the first dream is granted, but the person's heart becomes unstable and unable to be satisfied no matter what one does. When the second is started, the person falls into a state of starvation, or addiction. When the third dream is granted by the Kor, the soul has indulged in too much darkness and will forever be unable to go back to the Chief of the Heavens. The Kor then takes the body to increase its number of comrades waiting for their master Verloren's return. A possessed body with all three dreams fulfilled by the Kor is called a Wars.

It is the duty of the church to protect people from the Kor; because addiction isn't easily removed, there is a correction center where people are helped to overcome themselves. There are cases when a Kor may grant a wish that is not one of the three dreams, but it upsets the equilibrium and the Kor may be punished for it.

The Eyes of Mikhail and Raphael
A set of stones embedded into a person's hand, they allow the Archangels Mikhail and Raphael to descend into their host's body for a limited time. The eyes are undetectable until they possess their host's body, in which case the host's eye colour usually changes and he or she has godlike prowess with Zaiphon. The royal family of the Kingdom of Raggs held the Eye of Mikhail and the Barsburg Empire held the Eye of Raphael. A pact was established between both countries never to search for the other's eye, though it was broken by the Empire ten years prior to the story's beginning.

Teito Klein The protagonist of the story. A former slave captured by the Barsburg Empire and considered to be the military academy's star pupil. His homeland is the former Kingdom of Raggs, and he was raised as an orphan in a church. It is later revealed that Teito had been entrusted with the Eye of Mikhail when the Empire invaded his home country, and he is the son of the former king of Raggs, Weldeschtein Krom Raggs, thus, a prince.At the start of the manga, Teito makes a promise with his best (and only) friend, Mikage, that they would die together.Unfortunately, Mikage gives up his life to save Teito from the Empire. Teito, shaken, swears revenge even though Mikage told him not to. At the 7th District Church he starts studying to become a priest so he can gain a priest's advantages on his way to revenge- free room and board at any inn in the Empire, and less stringent inspections at borders. However, he becomes entangled in the affairs of the Gods along the way because of the Eye of Mikhail.Teito is often teased because of his short stature by Mikage, Frau, and others who always treat him like a child, or mistaking him for one, which annoys him to no end. While training with Mikage using Zaiphon, Mikage even engraves the word 'chibi' to tease him.We later find out that Teito was the heir to the throne of the Raggs Kingdom, his real name being Wahrheit Tiashe Raggs. However, he was the son of a concubine, causing the queen to despise him. She later makes a deal to the Pope and gives Teito's body to him. The Pope seals Verloren's body within Teito, making him 'The Pandora's Box' that seals Verloren as well as the vessel.

Mikage Teito's best friend, Mikage comes from a family of stewards. Despite the fact that his closeness with Teito makes him a target of ill will, he remains a bright and cheerful person, sticking with Teito even if others make fun of him. Their relationship as friends involves a lot of Mikage teasing Teito about his short stature, and Teito beating him up in retaliation. Even so, they are still very close, promising each other that they will die together and will always be "the best of friends". Mikage also teaches Teito a lot about having being friends and having compassion for others.When Mikage's soul is taken by Ayanami and he dies, he begs Teito not to look for revenge, but instead to keep walking towards the light. This shakes Teito's beliefs, because Mikage was his 'light'.[8] Later, Mikage becomes reincarnated as a small pink dragon (called Burupya) because he wished to protect Teito, no matter what form.
Burupya is a Fyulong dragon who apparently fell from his nest. Frau managed to find him and bring him to Teito so that they could be together. While traveling to another House of God, Teito comes across Burupya's mother who demands to have Burupya back (the dragons can talk and grow to a huge size, which surprises Teito quite a bit). She tells him that even though Burupya is the reincarnation of Mikage, he has no memories of his previous life and doesn't belong with people. She also states that it is strange how Burupya is unable to talk or fly like his siblings. Right before letting Burupya go, Burupya changes into a young Mikage for a few seconds, before leaving with his family. The child Mikage points up to the words on the walls that say "We'll always be the best of friends", his last words. At the last minute, however, the dragons leave and Burupya drops from the sky, tackling Teito to the ground, staying by Teito's side instead leaving with the rest of the dragons.

Frau A perverted Bishop, he saves Teito's life when Teito falls from his hawkzile. He is the member of the 07-Ghosts and is known as 'Zehel'He finds Mikage (as a small pink dragon) for Teito and accidentally becomes Teito's 'Master' when he attempts to remove Teito's promise collar, invoking a blood contract. This collar gives Frau the ability to use three commands on Teito: bind, sleep and pain. For all his teasing, Frau also keeps Teito's spirits up with impromptu pep-talks. Because of this, Teito sometimes makes associations between Frau and his late 'Father'. His relation with Ayanami is as of yet unknown. Frau is the only Ghost who can wield Ayanami's scythe. His catchphase he says before every battle is "may god be with you".Frau was adopted by the church and became Bastian's disciple when he was caught in the large scale 'thief subjugation' across the empire. All of his friends died and he didn't believe in God; nevertheless he was so powerful with Zaiphon that it was rumored he was a child blessed with God's strength. While Frau was a wild child, constantly getting into trouble, he and Bastian ended up having a good father-son like relationship. When he was very young, Frau used to sneak out of the church at night and remove Kor from those afflicted by it, something extremely difficult that only trained bishops are usually capable of doing. Frau was so talented that he holds the all-time highest score for the examination—in fact, all of those being tested that day had to be regraded separately, as Frau's light completely erased everyone's darkness[12]. When Frau and Castor are reminiscing about when they took the exam, Frau says how he got stuck with the worst partner ever. Castor is infuriated by his comment, saying that that was his line, which implies that they were partners in the examination.He enjoys teasing and annoying Teito about how he looks like a small child. Although he is very tall and intimidating, the church orphans adore him, often getting him to play games with them. Frau is also quite the ladies' man, flirting with the nuns and any pretty women he sees.Despite his tough looks and rough exterior, Frau's is actually very caring and cares very much for people especially Teito, showing some hints like protecting him from danger and carrying him when he's hurt. He even says that his meeting with Teito for the first time is not a coincidence but actually is fated for them both to meet. He has also said that Teito was one of the "shining rays" he has met.

Castor Another bishop, he convinces Teito to take the examination to enter the priesthood. The training he puts Teito through is vigorous and often involves his 'dolls', life-sized puppets he controls with Zaiphon. One of the 07-Ghosts, he is 'Fest'.His name used to be Xing-lu Hausen, and he was the thirteenth head of the family in a House of God. His father often ignored him and he felt neglected, so Castor spent most of his time inside his room making replica dolls of his mother, who "was the only allowed to spoil him". He was so talented, that he was widely recognized as a genius. After a successful mission, Castor hears someone singing and finds Razette, a young mermaid, in a tank. He frees her and she immediately is taken with him. The two become friends and companions, with Razette continuously trying to cheer Castor up; using her power to replicate any face, she changes her appearance to that of Castor's and smiles, causing him to burst into tears. After that day, Razette taught him how to smile.

Labrador A bishop whose hobby is gardening, he gives Teito a flower of protection at the start of the manga which later saves his life during an encounter with a Kor. He also gives Teito a drink made from sweet flowers to heal his 'wounds of the heart'. During battles, he is able to use flowers and vines as weapons with his manipulation zaiphon. He is also able to communicates with flowers. It has been confirmed by an an omake, and later in chapter 46 of the manga, that he is indeed a Ghost, known as 'Profe'. His powers as a Ghost grant him the gift of foresight, which allowed him to aid Teito before Teito's first encounter with a Kor. He doesn't wish to kill Veloren, only for him to live in the world as a proper human.

His real name is Ilyusha, which is discovered by Teito and co. through the memories of Lem, his old friend. He is the grandson of the Krat family's leader and spends most of his time in his greenhouse. Lem and his younger sister, Lirin were orphans that the Krat household adopted. The three of them were close friends. Labrador (Ilyusha) had precognition ever since he was little, allowing him to 'see' where medicinal herbs would grow. Lirin was a sickly child, often falling sick until at one point, her illness could not be cured. Krat tells Lem about 'The Flower of Eden'- a mystical flower that is said not only able to heal any illness, but also any sadness. Lem urges Ilyusha to tell him about the said flower. A few days later, a sealed letter filled with petals arrived. In it was written; "If you burn these petals as incense, Lirin would definitely be happy." Grateful, Lem hurried to Ilyusha's greenhouse, only to discover the imperial soldiers sealing the place off. Ilyusha was devoured by the forbidden flower- The Flower of Eden. Blinded by grief, Lem seals Ilyusha's body and Profe's seal together, calling it 'his most precious treasure in the world.'

Hakuren Oak Teito's roommate at the church and, at first, his self-proclaimed rival for the priesthood exam. They first meet soon after Mikage's death and Hakuren is walking by Teito in the church. Teito mistakes him for Mikage since they look somewhat similar, but upon looking closer, realizes it is someone else. Upon seeing that Teito is training to become a bishop a well, he states that Teito is now his rival. Teito is thinking that there is something about Hakuren that is a bit familiar to him until Hakuren asks Teito whether middle school children were starting to take the exam as well. Teito suddenly realizes that Hakuren sounds a lot like Shuuri Oak, his tormentor from the military academy.It turns out that Hakuren is related to Shuuri and he and Teito immediately despise each other, even thinking "if this wasn't a sanctuary, I would beat him up".After trading insults, Teito asks Hakuren why someone from the noble Oak family, having a reputation for being in the military and the government, would pursue a life at the church. Later in the day, upon hearing that they are roommates, both of them demand a change, but are unable to. Because they are roommates, they are also assigned as partners for training and the examination.
Eventually, they apologize for being so rude to each other and become friends. After Teito tells him about how Burupya is the reincarnation of his friend, Hakuren tells him about why he came to the church to become a bishop. When he was very young, his mother was taken by a Kor. His father was ashamed and simply locked her up in her room so that no one would know about it, but Hakuren suggested asking the Church for help exterminating the Kor. His father refused, but later Frau came to his house and healed his mother. Hakuren believed that he was God who answered his prayers and since that day, wanted to become just like Frau. After telling Teito his story, he felt embarrassed, but they became good friends. Their friendship is further developed when a Wars attacks the two of them after training and Teito grabs Hakuren's hand to stop him from falling. They both end up falling out of the building and have to be saved by Frau.After seeing & hear the things that were covered up by the military, he decided to go in order to let the voices of the weak be heard to the royal family.

Ayanami The main antagonist. He is the man who killed Teito's 'Father' and seeks the Eye of Mikhail, though he seems to also be searching for 'Zehel'. His relationship with the 07-Ghosts is unknown, but he seems to be working for Verloren. It has been revealed that Ayanami is the owner of Frau's scythe; however, how his scythe came into Frau's possession is still unknown.Ayanami is indeed the reincarnation of the spirit of Verloren. Usually this would have been okay, as Verloren reincarnates within a human body every time one dies, but the case is different in Ayanami as he has remembered that he is Verloren.

Mikhail A god that possesses Teito's body through the Eye of Mikhail. When in control of Teito's body, Teito's irises become red and his pupils become slits. He is very fond of Teito, and is put out by the slave collar that limits his strength. Though extremely powerful, he tends to act like a petulant child and often makes undignified faces when talking with the Bishops. Later in the series, the Eye of Mikhail is stolen. But Teito can temporarily pass a link through a spell causing a reaction.

Minor characters

Miroku The chairman who had Teito as his favorite student. Although that is how it looked at first, but later it's revealed that he just put Teito in the academy because he's the owner of The Eye of Mikhaill and Raggs successor.

Shuri Oak A student from the prestigious Oak family, he often bullies Teito because he was a slave. During the final exam, Teito saves his life even though he has a grudge against him. Later, through connections with his father, he becomes a subordinate to Ayanami. Because Konatsu saved his life, he idolizes him greatly.He is very cowardly, conceited, and spoiled. He annoys the other Black Hawks so much that Hyuuga simply throws him out of the aircraft on a battlefield, claiming he was just sending him on the front lines. He is about to be killed before Konatsu saves him.

Razette A noel mermaid, who grew up with Castor, is resurrected after taking her own life in grief over Castor's death. She currently sings and plays the organ in the church. Razette can also freely change her face into that of other people. If people eat her scales it allows them to breath underwater.She also takes a liking to Teito when she first met him. Also she normally she doesn't like strangers.

Fia Kreuz Originally only known as "Father" to Teito, he took Teito into a church and raised him. When Teito was a child, he taught him many things, including the majority of the church's writings. Fia Kreuz was excommunicated from the Church shortly after Teito left, for escaping with Pandora's Box. He cared for Teito very much, having raised him and being his primary father figure. He is actually the King's younger brother, making him Teito's blood uncle. Although there are many differences between him and Frau, Teito is still reminded of Kreuz a lot when Frau is being serious. It is later revealed in chapter 39 that he was the one who sealed Teito's memories in order to protect the Eye of Mikhail and hide the location of where he hid the Pandora's Box. He looks a bit like both Mikage and Frau.Fia Kreuz is also another of the
07-Ghosts, Vertrag. He was devoured by Verloren, causing him to gain his powers.

Sister Athena One of the nuns of the church. She has blue hair and violet eyes.

Sister Rosalie One of the nuns of the church. She has blonde hair and brown eyes. She is a bit clumsy. She also suspected Frau as one of the seven ghosts.

Sister Libelle One of the nuns of the church. She has pink hair and blue eyes.

Jio An elder Arch-bishop at the church with one scarred eye. He is the leader of the seven Bishops and suspects spies in the church.

Bastien A high-ranking priest, he oversees the teaching of acolytes (people who will take the exam to become a priest). He was Frau's teacher in the past, and is his most important person. Ironically, he is revealed to be a spy under Ayanami. He was killed by Frau in his Ghost form for his crime of using black magic to kills murderers who seek salvation. It is implied he was reincarnated as a sprout in the church's garden.

Hyuuga One of Ayanami's subordinates. He refers to Ayanami as 'Aya-tan'. He is almost never seen without a lollipop (or candy apple thing) in his mouth and is always wearing dark sunglasses. He is always joking, being silly and never acts serious. This is shown in an omake when he and Frau attend a parent teacher meeting and embarrass Konatsu and Teito. Hyuuga is also very skilled with the sword. He seems to be very loyal to Ayanami, once stating that Ayanami was his 'one and only king.'

Konatsu Warren Hyuuga's subordinate, he often gets exasperated at Hyuuga for failing to do his work. Recently, he also has to put up with Shuuri, who idolizes him. He is often the 'normal one' in a group full of crazy people and is shown 'reaching his limit' when no one is doing any work and are just playing around. This is interesting as it humanizes the villains.Konatsu was born to a prominent family known for being gifted with warsfeil users. However, as Konatsu was born without the powers of warsfeil, he was shunned by his entire family, save for his grandfather who taught him swordsmanship under the instruction that if he could join the Black Hawks he might be accepted by his family. As such, Konatsu is an excellent swordsman, achieving had top marks in the examination [21] and having never lost a battle.With these merits, Konatsu applies for a spot on the Black Hawks and is rejected because, despite his skill, he lacks the power of warsfeil. Upon receiving his rejection, he sees Hyuuga practicing with his sword and is challenged to a match. The conditions are that if Konatsu can land one "hit" on Hyuuga, Hyuuga would give him a sword.The match is easily one-sided, with Hyuuga breaking Konatsu's arm and several of his ribs. Yet despite his clear disadvantage, Konatsu refuses to give up. After he has passed out from his injuries and Hyuuga is checking his body, Konatsu lashes out at him, unconsciously, grabbing Hyuuga's throat and scoring a "hit." When Konatsu wakes up in hospital, Hyuuga is there and rewards him with a sword and a spot in the Black Hawks.Konatsu has a strong resemblance to Mikage.

Kuroyuri The youngest of Ayanami's subordinates, Kuroyuri often goes on missions with Haruse. He is fanatically devoted to Ayanami and hates the Ghosts (particularly Frau). He seems to make a hobby of killing things and otherwise making things gory, as seen when Kuroyuri sits on mountains of corpses mutilates bodies, and frequently asks for permission to kill things. He seems to have a strong relationship with Haruse.
Kuroyuri's gender may be male.

Haruse Kuroyuri's subordinate, who often accompanies Kuroyuri on missions. Later in the story, it appears his soul was 'taken' by the Eye of Mikhail when he separated Mikhail and Teito.

Lance A flamboyant Bishop who organizes the priesthood examination and oversees it. He considers Frau his rival. It has been revealed that he is one of the Ghosts, Rilect. His powers revolve around viewing the past.

Capella A child who was sold into slavery by his mother. He is rescued by Teito and Frau as they flee the Barsburg Church, and joins them in their journey to the 'Land of Seele'. Capella gained the ability to use the healing style of zaiphon after being told by Teito that they were going to the Fourth District in search of his mother.

Kurena A servant who took care of Teito during Teito's days of being a slave, Teito said that once he enters the military he will free her. She has a scar on her neck as punishment for her carelessness under her previous master. To the present, she still keeps a picture of Teito and all the little things (sparkly stones, flowers, etc) that Teito had given her, which goes to show how much she still cherishes Teito. She is the only female character in the series so far who's truly important to Teito, as she is the closest thing he has to a mother.

Ouka The imperial princess. She's the owner of the Eye of Raphael and she runs away from the Royal Palace to reach her dream to be free, in order to not follow the King's orders to become someone that she wouldn't be, since she wants to be a doctor. She also has a little dragon called Kururu, whom she considers to be like a sister to her. Though she doesn't seem to remember it, she was the one who invoked the Eye of Raphael upon Raggs, destroying Teito's home. She admires Teito for his courage and agreed to visit the next God House with him, before they were attacked by Wars. At first, she mistook Teito as a God House member because of his clothes, but the issue was quickly cleared up. Frau mistakes Teito taking Ouka on a date, which embarrassed both of them. Like Teito, she thinks Frau is a pervert.

Seilan A butler at the Hausen House. He served Xinglu, and is still sad about his death.

Fyulong A breed of dragon that Mikage's reincarnation belongs to, they have ancient knowledge surpassing humans and are capable of telepathic communication, the head dragon was able to determine Frau was Zehel and understand the chief of heaven's actions. She wanted Mikage back and blames Zehel for taking him, but understands how precious life was to them, even showing Teito Mikage's past life memories. Upon ascertaining that the child was happy she left him with Teito.

Yuki & Suzu Both are combat slaves from Antwort. Once the king was killed and they were brought to Ayatane, he freed them and they decided to join him since they like strong people. They sent a Wars after Teito to test him and in chapter 47 they met him in person(They were captured after an officer took their Black Hawks Passes). They got along great since they speak Raggs dialect and enjoy singing, they later left Teito's group with a letter saying goodbye, although they are hesitant to fight him they will if ordered too. Yuki is more careful, while Suzu is more outgoing. Since they only speak Raggs dialect only a few people can understand them, but both are able to recognize people's strengths like they noticed Teito's hands were the same as theirs, those that have killed many people, and they noticed that Frau was surrounded by darkness that would devour them if they approached carelessly. Just like Teito, they are able to completely hide their presence and Konatsu stated that it took him 3 minutes to catch them and they were just as strong as Teito.

Mikhail The chairman who had Teito as his favorite student. Although that is how it looked at first, but later it's revealed that he just put Teito in the academy because he's the owner of The Eye of Mikhaill and Raggs successor.

Ayanami… (plus d'informations)