Raijū

Raijū (雷獣 Raijū, lit. Thunder Beast) is an electric yōkai.
==Appearance==
In illustrations, the Raijū is a mammalian beast covered with green fur. It has six legs that have clawed toes, a pointy snout with sharp teeth, pointy ears, orange eyes with small pupils, and two fluffy tails.
In the 1985 anime, Raiju is a small mammalian yokai, having orange-brown fur with tan-colored digits, three on each of the front pair and five on each on the hind pair. It has triangular-shaped ears that point back and two fluffy tails, both of which have darker colored stripes. Its eyes are sharp with yellow sclerae and tiny black pupils.
Within the 2007 anime, Raijū's appearance is that of a large, lavender feline-like creature with two stocky tails and multiple yellow barbs on his back, those aligned on his spine being the largest. He has a pair of white thick whiskers, eyes with red irises, and small black pupils. On each of his stubby paws are five yellow claws.
==Personality==
Within the 2007 anime, Raijū has an animalistic mindset and acts much like an angry beast. He displays behavior such as attacking those he deems a threat to him or his home and becoming docile once he senses his home is restored.
==History==
===1985 Anime===
He appears in episode #108 of the third anime adaptation, Kitaro Family Forever.GeGeGe no Kitarō (1985): Episode 108
===2007 Anime===
He appears in the tenth episode of the fifth anime adaptation, The Almighty God! Raijū.GeGeGe no Kitarō (2007): Episode 10
Sometime later, he awakens from his slumber and during the battle against Yato-no-Kami in GeGeGe no Kitarō: Nippon Bakuretsu!!, Yobuko calls for help from all over Japan, the remaining 47 Yōkai Warriors are revealed once their mark begins to shine. Among those is Raijū, who looks at his mark when it appears on his left ear. Afterward, his power is sent to aid Kitarō in defeating Yato-no-Kami.GeGeGe no Kitarō: Nippon Bakuretsu!!
He is also one of the 47 Yōkai Warriors. He's the representative of Tochigi. His mark is located on his left ear.
==Powers and Abilities==
Electricity Manipulation: Raijū is able to generate lightning from his tails and mouth, utilizing it to attack those who threaten him. In the third anime, the lightning is green-colored while it was blue in the fifth anime.
Raiju07 Breath.png|Lightning Breath in the 2007 anime.
Raiju3rd3.png|Electric Beam in the 1985 anime.
==Other Media==
===Akuma-kun: The Great Prophet Nostradamus===
Raijū appears as a member of Shingo Yamada's Twelve Apostles, his position unknown.
==Legend==
Raijū is a yōkai that appears whenever lightning strikes in the Tochigi prefecture. They resemble either a raccoon dog or a weasel with two front legs and four hind legs. Usually docile in their home in the mountains, whenever thunderstorms occur, they rise to the sky before falling to the earth alongside the lightning. Trees that had their bark torn off during these storms are said to have been torn by a Raijū's claws. Edo period painter Tani Bunchō wrote that anyone nearby when lightning strikes caused by a Raijū will go insane, but they can be cured if fed corn.
==Trivia==
*Raijū and Bake-Tōrō bear several remembrances in backgrounds; both characters made appearances in the 2007 anime adaptation of GeGeGe no Kitarō where Bake-Tōrō also gained an affinity to lightning, and both characters are associated with Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture.第三回　栃木県の妖怪を巡る旅　雷獣、殺生石
==References==
==Navigation==
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Category:Feline Yōkai