Shiron "The Wizard Operator"

English site
Shiron "The Wizard Operator" is one of the berserk Adepts appearing in Azure Striker Gunvolt 3, and the boss of the mission Cyber Daydream (Cyber-Kowloon).
Following his defeat, he joins the Sumeragi Group's Bureau of Dragon Saviors, gaining a three diamond rank comparable to Kirin and Apollo. As his Septima is normally not suitable for combat, unlike the other recruited Berserk Adepts he doesn't assist in missions in person.
Shiron's Septima is Overclock, which allows him to perform light-speed calculations to read an opponent’s every move.
==Website Description==
==Appearance==
In his human form he has brown hair and amber eyes. He wears a yellow shirt over a white one and a blue hooded jacket with white accents and light blue sleeves. He wears black shorts and red sneakers, he also appears to be wearing a black swimsuit. Because of his young, androgynous appearance, he is at times confused for a girl.
In his masked form he has black armor with blue and white accents over a gray suit with white gloves with black fingers and blue accents. He has a blue and black tail with a white tip with a blue blade that resembles a stinger. His mask is blue with black horns and four reddish-purple eyes. He also has tentacles similar to his tail protruding from the back of his head.
==Gallery==
Main article: Shiron "The Wizard Operator"/Gallery
gv3booklet08.jpg
Shiron armed IP portrait.png
== Personality ==
Shiron is an avid gamer, often times his morale will peak when a new game he wants is released or receiving promotions for upcoming games (such as the latest September entry's beta codes). He also regularly speaks using video game slang in his speech, describing a new technique devised by Kirin as having a "massive hitbox" or in another instance talking how Kirin "got buffed with an update". When engaging in combat he usually starts with a "Round One" (an allusion to fighting games) or yelling "Game Over" when beaten. His dialogue suggests he plays fighting games more so than any other genre, although his description details he is considerably more skilled at strategy games.
Shiron's most defining trait, however, is his burning desire to become more of a "manly man", attempting but often failing to gain much traction or recognition on said goals due to his very young, androgynous appearance and his video game habits getting in the way. In fact despite, his aspirations to become more masculine, he still acts like a kid his age from time to time, from hugging "Dogvolt" for his fluffy appearance to snacking on quite a bit of chocolate. He nonetheless looks up to Cayman as a role model due to the delinquent being the very image of what Shiron aspires to be, respectfully addressing Cayman as his mentor, which puts Cayman in a pickle since he doesn't believes he has trained enough, but still strives to be better for Shiron's respect. At the same time, he gets angry when people confuse him for a girl, emphasizing that he is a "man". In Epilogue ATEMS, he was particularly offended when Zed tried to recruit him, while repeatedly confusing his gender, and in an awkward exchange, Sistina tried to make him desist by insisting he didn't need "another cloying subordinate" like Layla.
When Shiron goes berserk, both of his traits get accentuated to their maximum and overlap in dangerous ways. He takes over the game arcade of Cyber Kowloon through his septima and fundamentally redesigns the entire place as a heavily guarded fortress full of mechanical and dastardly traps and hazards which he installed, reigning the location as his "castle", while still carefully observing his opponents and analyzing their battle data to come up with counter strategies. When confronted Shiron is angered that his place has been defiled and takes it upon himself to face his aggressors, if anything to demonstrate how much of a "man" he has become, screaming in excitement about his perceived newfound masculinity, and how he will be the "manliest man alive". Part of his dialogue suggests he may be a victim of an undisclosed degree of bullying or harassment since he reveals one of his aspirations is that no one will pick on him, hinting that his obsession with masculinity could involve personal insecurities and either strives to improve himself or is otherwise a coping mechanism. However, both Kirin and GV, notice that Shiron while out of control, still speaks like a normal person, the discrepancy suggesting many of his exposed traits to be in fact not part of his true personality.
As part of the Dragon Saviors, Shiron is in charge of the logistical and tactical support, as his intelligence, calculation and hacking ability, allow him to serve as an effective operator, disabling security traps from afar, and even discern weak points from threats. He's also able to come up with proper navigation routes for smooth proceeding during missions. Despite his age, he is notoriously meticulous and diligent in his work, contrary to the likes of BB, who are known for slacking off.
== History ==
During an event held at Cyber-Kowloon, Shiron is exposed to a severe amount of Dragon Radiation, causing him to become a Primal Dragon and hijack the security systems throughout the complex. In response, Kirin and Gunvolt are sent in to put a stop to his rampage. Despite his control over the security allowing him to make traps that aren't a part of the system, he is eventually defeated and his Primal Dragon sealed.
Feeling bad for all the trouble he's caused, Shiron joins up with the Dragon Saviors. While he is capable of combat like the others, his Overclock is more suited for information processing, meaning he either spends time as tactical support or handling the Bureau's paperwork. He's very proficient at it too, doing the work of ten people and reducing the Dragon Saviors' reliance on borrowed manpower from other departments.
Shiron also manages to detect several missiles that somehow bypass the national defense barrier before anyone else can, providing GV with the coordinates to teleport there using Azure Striker.
As the Dragon Saviors wage battle against ATEMS, Shiron continues to provide tactical analysis and comms support for the team, though the link suffers critical interference after Kirin and GV reach the heart of Sunrise Palace.
In the True Ending, Shiron continues working for the Dragon Saviors, providing analysis and directing field agents to where they need to go.
==Other Appearances==
===Card-en-Ciel===
"You can rest easy now that I got your back!"
Shiron is one of the characters from Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 featured in the crossover roguelite card-battling RPG Card-en-Ciel, appearing as both a card and random event in dungeons.
Card 	Character 	Effect 	Cost	Movement
The Wizard Operator	Shiron (Normal)	[Action] 5 damage. Forge 2 Radiant Fetters if action is successful.(Special: 29 damage. Forge 2 Radiant Fetters.)	0 	Right
==Powers and Abilities==
Shiron holds power over the Overclock Septima, which allows him to perform lightning fast calculations, analyze data, and study an opponent's every move. Normally more of a supportive ability and unsuitable for combat by itself, Shiron can utilize Overclock to hack into machinery and have it fight in his stead, allowing him to fight by taking over external devices. As a result of his intelligence and expertise with machines, he was capable of repurposing the security devices in Cyber Kowloon into traps equipped with deadly weapons. He could equip security cameras with guns, infest the place with proximity mines, booby trap shutters to close, amongst others. Shiron was largely able to achieve this by having the Security Bots tinker and weaponize all the machinery.
When in combat, Shiron was capable of floating, short-distance teleporting, and even brief invisibility. Whether these are an extension of Overclock or a result of manipulating machines to do it for him is unexplained. Shiron's preferred method of attack involves manipulating spherical devices in conjunction with deadly laser cannons, capable of shooting concentrated scorching beams capable of setting the floor ablaze, or shooting spherical blasts of energy. In both cases, Shiron can combine the shots with his spherical devices which reflect the attacks at another angle, allowing Shiron to trick his foes and catch of them off guard, greatly reducing their ability to evade his attacks. Shiron can also damage his foes by ramming into them, suggesting he can harm others through contact.
While working as part of the Dragon Saviors, Shiron avoids fighting, serving more as an operator, providing tactical and analytical support for the team. His calculations and hacking ability allow him to discern the safest and best route for the Dragon Saviors to mobilize while being capable of disabling security threats. Due to his ability to study and analyze data and opponent's abilities, Shiron is also capable of discovering weak points with acute precision.
Shiron is also an avid gamer and is very skilled when it comes to strategy games. His dialogue, however, suggests he is more invested into the fighting games genre, although his skill on them is considerably less notable.
=== Boss Battle Skills ===
Note: Whenever Shiron attacks, he positions the bubble-like spheres in different places on the screen to redirect the lasers and make it difficult for the player to move.
Skill 	Description
Trick Warp(トリックワープ) 	Shiron teleports to a random spot in the room. He may do this up to three times. In Hard Mode, there is less time between the teleports.
Tactical Crawler(タクティカルクロウラー) 	Shiron places the spheres in order to stop the player from jumping and then crawls at high speed towards the corner of the screen.
In Hard Mode, the spheres shift slightly in the direction Shiron dashes in.
Orbital Shot(オービタルショット) 	Shiron teleports to the center of the room and rotates the bubble-like spheres around him. While this is happening, defense bots positioned at the sides launch energy spheres at random directions. When the energy spheres touch the bubbles, they change direction towards the player.
In Hard Mode, the defense bots fire spheres more frequently.
Refraction Grid(リフラクショングリッド) 	Shiron fires a laser from a defense bot positioned at one of the upper corners of the room. The laser steadily points downwards, though while it's pointed at a nearby-positioned bubble, it will be redirected in the opposite direction while it's pointed at the bubble. A few seconds later, Shiron dashes towards the other side of the room.
In Hard Mode, at the same time, another defense bot positioned in the lower corner opposite the first bot fires a laser which steadily points upwards.
Prism Shot(プリズムショット) 	Shiron positions the two bubbles on diagonal points in the room, before firing a volley of energy spheres in an outwards spread from a defense bot positioned near the top of a wall. Shiron then dashes to the other side of the room and fires another spread from another defense bot. Just like with Orbital Shot, any spheres that hit the bubbles get redirected towards the player. 
In Hard Mode, the defense bots fire spheres more rapidly. Shiron may also first dash across the room before performing the attack normally.
Gaming Laser(ゲイミングレーザー) 	Shiron fires a laser that sweeps the floor, leaving a small safe space. He then fires another which sweeps in the opposite direction. The direction of the lasers depends on the defense bot firing it; the left bot sweeps from the left to the right of the room, and vice versa.
In Hard Mode, there is less of a delay between both lasers, and they sweep the whole floor instead of most of it. If the player moves to the other side of the room while Shiron's firing, he may suddenly switch to firing a laser from the other bot, before continuing the attack as normal.
Brilliant Raid(マジシャンズゲート, Magician's Gate) 	Shiron's special skill. Shiron, from the center of the room, fires arrays of lasers that expand outwards. The lasers have no gaps in between, requiring the player to use Arc Chains to bypass them. Shiron first fires two arrays that expand to cover the corners and walls, and then fires two more smaller arrays that stop a short distance from him, before dissipating the lasers with a round of explosions that rotate around the room momentarily.
In Hard Mode, the lasers travel outwards faster and have less of a delay between launches. The explosions at the end also last for a slightly longer time.
==Boss Battle Voices==
===Japanese===
Event 	Translated 	Romaji 	Japanese
Start 	Round 1, let’s gooo! 	Raundo wan, iku yooo! 	ラウンド１、行くよ〜
Start (Epilogue ATEMS) 	I’ll let you know that I’m a MAN! 	Boku wa otoko dakarane! 	ぼくはおとこだからね！
After battle start 	Let the match begin! 	Saa, shoubu kaishi! 	さあ、勝負開始！
Trick Warp 	Like I’d run away! Where am I? 	Nigeru monka! Doko desho? 	逃げるもんか！どこでしょ？
Trick Warp 	Here I am! 	Koko da yoo! 	ここだよッ！
Trick Warp 	Where am I, where am I? 	Doko kana, doko kana? 	どこかな、どこかな？
Trick Warp 	Right edge, left edge! 	Migi hashi, hidari hashi! 	右端、左端!
Trick Warp 	 	 	
Tactical Crawler 	There! Take this! 	Otto! Eeii! 	おっと！えーいッ！
Orbital Shot 	Geometry (?) It spins! How’s that like!? 	Geometorii (?) Guruguru! Dou daa! 	ぐるぐる！ どうだッ！
Refraction Grid 	Can you dodge this? 	Yokerareru kana? 	避けられるかな？
Prism Shot 	 	 	
Gaming Laser 	Gaming Laser! Turn over! 	Geimingu rezaa! Mekuri! 	ゲイミングレザー! めくり!
Magician's Gate (Brilliant Raid)	Advance Program! Magician's Gate! I won’t let you escape! This is a match which I must win! BOOM! Have at you!	Adobansudo puroguramu! Majishanzu Geeto! Zettai nigasanai! Kore ga boku no hissu shoubu sa! Dokaan! Doyaa!	アドバンスドプログラム！ マジシャンズゲート! 絶対逃さない！ これがぼくの必須勝負さ！ドカーン!どやッ！
1st Phase Down 	I won’t lose! 	Makeru mon ka! 	負けるもんか！
2nd Phase Down 	They can predict my calculations? 	Keisan ga yomareteru? 	計算が読まれてる？
Defeated 	N-no way! G-game… over…! 	Na, nandee! Ge, geemu… oobaa…! 	な、なんでー！ゲ、ゲームオーバー…!
=== English===
Event 	Description
Start 	Round one! Here I come!
Start (Epilogue ATEMS) 	I'm a MAN, okay?!
After battle start 	Game on! Let's go!
Trick Warp 	Aaand I'm out.
Trick Warp 	Haha!
Trick Warp 	Hold the way!
Trick Warp 	Wheeere am I?
Trick Warp 	Where could I be?
Tactical Crawler 	Ha! Ey!
Orbital Shot 	Pew pew pew! Round and round! You like that?
Refraction Grid 	Can you dodge this? Gotcha!
Prism Shot 	Fire away! Now! You can't escape!
Prism Shot (Hard Mode) 	Come on out! Now! Fire away! You can't escape!
Gaming Laser 	Gamer Laser! Cross em!
Brilliant Raid 	Advance program! Brilliant Raid!
I've got you now! This is my winning strat! Pow pow!
Magician's Gate (JP Text Only)	Advance program! Magician's Gate!
I've got you now! This is my winning strat! Pow pow!
1st Phase Down 	No way I'm gonna lose!
2nd Phase Down 	They ran... my calculations?
Defeated 	WHYYYYYY!? G-game... over!?
== Special Skill Chants==
Brilliant Raid:
==Designer Comments==
Source: Dengeki Online interview about Gunvolt 3 character design and illustration
==Musical Themes==
(C) = Composer
(A) = Arranger
Title 	Context 	Musicians 	Audio
Into the Neon Labyrinth(電子の謀略迷宮, Cyber Strategist Maze) 	Cyber-Kowloon stage theme	Ryo Yoshinaga (C) 	
Into the Neon Labyrinth(電子の謀略迷宮 ーー, Cyber Strategist Maze -Roar-) 	Gunvolt version 	Ryo Yoshinaga (C)Hiroaki Sano (A)	
==Trivia==
*Shiron's design motif is the Major Arcana I, The Magician, considering various aspects of him and the Major Arcana theme of other Gunvolt 3 characters. His transformed concept art also labels him Naga (ナーガ), matching the draconic motif of the Berserk Adepts. Shiron's usage of spheres is likely based on the Magician also being known as the Juggler.
*Shiron is likely named after the Bugatti Chiron, matching the possible car-based names of the other berserk Adepts, Black Badge, Cayman, and Apollo.
*It is speculated that alongside nagas, other bases for Shiron's transformed state could be lamias and possibly Medusa (note the two hair tendrils with head-like parts on the end).
*The chant and Japanese name of Shiron's SP skill are a reference to the Gater Program Advance, known as Gate Magic in Japan, from Mega Man Battle Network 2. It is triggered by the battle chips Wind (pushes back foes with wind), Fan (pulls them in), and Gateman.
*In early concepts, Shiron was going to be an Adept with the Septima Space (Zone) () and have an Ouroboros motif. The Zone Septima would be capable of instantly identifying and supervising all kinds of spaces (possibly limited but stronger than Teseo), the head and waist tails on the design could attack independently, and they could form "Infinite Computation" (無限演算, furigana illegible) when connected, calculating the future with ○○-ed(illegible) computing power. The Magician is also associated with Ouroboros via the infinity symbol.
**In the final version, Moebius appears to have been designed with an Ouroboros motif instead, and his Astral Order ability sees the future similar to how Zone could calculate it. Moebius also possesses elements of the Magician/Juggler with the spheres in his battle.
*Coinciding with Munehiro Araki discussing the challenge of differentiating Shiron from Xiao, Shiron and Xiao have very similar Image Pulse effects (different versions of increased credits drops) and Xiao's image pulse is found by completing Shiron's stage, which itself was ultimately based on a location in Hong Kong (tying back into Xiao's Chinese origin and motif).
*As Shiron is noted to excel at real time strategy games and in English his SP skill is named Brilliant Raid, and combined with the references of BB and to a lesser extent Apollo and Cayman, it's speculated another of Shiron's motifs is Conquest of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
*The Berserk Adepts' designs may pay homage to the Four Guardians from the Mega Man Zero series, with Shiron referencing Fairy Leviathan.
*Shiron's gender was left unspecified in Japanese pre-release promotional material, with even Kirin's voice actress Yū Sasahara expressing confusion about whether to call him "Shiron-chan" or "Shiron-kun" in a tweet.Yū Sasahara tweet
**Contributing to his overall-androgynous appearance, Shiron is one of only three male characters in the series to be drawn with triangular eyelash shapes at an angle from the outlines of his eyes; the others are ZedΩ and Male Zonda. This trait is possessed by the vast majority of female characters, however; the exceptions are Moniqa, Nori, Gibril, Maria, Vespa, and the Mother Computer in her seraph form.
==References==
*4gamer.net article about Shiron.
*Gunvolt News Channel Episode 44, Shiron's debut stream featuring his Japanese voice actor Toyosu Rio as a guest.
==Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 Navigation==
Category:Male Characters
Category:Antagonists
Category:Azure Striker Gunvolt 3
Category:Adept
Category:ASG3 Bosses
Category:ASG3 Characters
Category:Protagonists
Category:Characters
Category:Sumeragi Group
Category:Image Pulse