Hiei

Hiei (飛影 ひえい , Literally meaning: Flying Shadow) is introduced as one of three wanted demons, alongside Kurama and Goki, who stole three treasures from the Underworld. With the Conjuring Blade (降魔の剣, Kōma no Ken), a sword that turns anyone cut by it into a demon, he plans to create an army.[ch. 22] As the last of his partners on the run, Hiei kidnaps Keiko in an exchange with Yusuke for the other two treasures. However, he also cuts her with the Conjuring Blade, forcing Yusuke to defeat him to save her, which he does with help from Kurama and Botan.[ch. 23] Hiei possesses the Evil Eye (邪眼 Jagan, referred to as the "Jagan Eye" in the English anime) implanted in his forehead, which gives him clairvoyance and allows him to control lesser demons and humans with only a glance.[ch. 22] He can transform into a form with Evil Eyes all over his body, boosting his powers. While assisting Yusuke in defeating The Four Beasts in exchange for a reduced sentence, Hiei changes and no longer acts solely for his own interest.[ch. 38] For associating with humans, Hiei and Kurama are invited to take part in the Dark Tournament on Yusuke and Kuwabara's team.[ch. 51] During the Dark Tournament he debuts the technique known as the Black Dragon Unholy Fire (邪王炎殺黒龍波, Jaō Ensatsu Kokuryūha, lit. "Tyrant King's Blaze-Murdering Black Dragon Wave", "Dragon of the Darkness Flame" in the English anime), which allows him to summon and control black flames from the Demon Plane.[ch. 57] He eventually masters the technique by consuming the flames, which greatly enhances the user's abilities.[ch. 100] Although he initially refrains from helping Yusuke and company stop Sensui from opening the portal to the Demon Plane because he wants to return himself, Hiei later joins them when Yusuke offers to let him have The Black Chapter videotape.[ch. 133] After watching Yusuke's death by Sensui, Hiei's old demon powers awaken.[ch. 147] He is invited to the Demon Plane to join Mukuro.[ch. 158] He takes part in the Demon Plane Unification Tournament, losing to Mukuro in the third round. At the end of the series, he is assigned to the special squad in charge of safely returning humans who wander into the Demon Plane.[ch. 173]
Hiei is Yukina's twin brother.[ch. 160] It is later revealed that he is a fire demon born to a race of female Ice Maidens, who reproduce by parthenogenesis every 100 years, always giving birth to a female. However, a male child is born only if the Maiden has had sexual contact with a male, which is forbidden in their society. As her children were born, their mother wept two Tears of Ice before dying, tears that crystallize into jewels and are given to the babies.[ch. 160] Hiei was thrown from the floating glacial country to his supposed doom, but managed to survive and grew up in the wilderness where he developed a thirst for killing. The only times he found peace was while looking at his Tear of Ice jewel, later deciding to find the glacial country to take revenge on the women who cast him out.[ch. 161] Having lost his jewel during a battle, Hiei went to Shigure and had an Evil Eye implanted so he could find it and the glacial country, at the cost of losing his powers. Though he easily found the Ice Maidens' home, his lust for revenge fades, he can not find his jewel and set out to find his sister instead.[ch. 161] Hiei is voiced by Nobuyuki Hiyama in Japanese, by Chuck Huber in Funimation's English dub, by Kirk Thornton in Anime Works's dub of the first film, and by James Stanley in Central Park Media's dub of the second film. Hiei is a popular character with fans, coming in first place in the series' first two popularity polls. He also came in first in the American Shonen Jump poll. He was ranked as the first, then second, then third most popular male anime character in Animage's Anime Grand Prix for the consecutive years of 1993, 1994, and 1995. The Japanese publication Newtype ranked him as the fifth-best male anime character of the 1990s. Masashi Kishimoto said that he used Hiei as a reference when creating Sasuke Uchiha from Naruto and his Sharingan technique.
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